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Tamil Protests downtown

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GraphicMatt said:
Also: Can you point out news stories that report the crowd banging on cars and injuring police officers? I know there was one arrest made, but the brunt of news reports describe things as peaceful.
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I don't have links handy. Most of what I saw was CP24 footage and heard on call in radio. But I did have friends who were stuck in the traffic who can attest to the fact that the protesters were thumping on car hoods and windows.

It's likely that the majority of the protesters were well behaved, however, the behaviour of the others certainly does not define it as a peaceful protest. We had no such problem when Lebanese Canadians were protesting for example. Aside from that, I have qualms about any protests that jeapordizes lives to get their message across. Storming a highway is not just inconveniencing the public, it is downright dangerous to other motorists and to the protesters themselves. Here's an alternative they could have tried….blocking ramps to the Gardiner….or delaying cars getting on while handing out information flyers (kinda like what strikers do).
 
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all I know if Fantino was around things would have gotten far worse.

Anyone remember the great cavalry charge against the anti-poverty protesters at Queen Park. Saw it live, it was like a movie. :D

The formed like a line and one policeman gave a signal and they charged the protesters. Some of the protesters put up a mattress (God knows where it came from) to protect themselves. The horse was on two legs kicking the mattress.
 
GraphicMatt said:
Despite the whole me-against-the-world nature of this thread right now, I'm neither an apologist nor do I believe this group was right to go on the Gardiner. I just believe we ought to avoid trivializing mass killings and labeling people who live and work among us as bad people because of this incident.
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Phew, that sounds much more reasonable than a lot of what has been said seemed. This is the nature of such threads though, isn't it? They always seem to get away on people, me included.

That being said, I don't think that being frustrated with people who do these types of things means that those who are frustrated are trivializing their cause.

Also, it's when you wave the flag of a terrorist group that you're wearing your sympathies on your sleeve. It would seem obvious that it's not just the Tamil people they're concerned about, but the LTTE itself.
 
It's the sad nature of Civil War. I worry that more militant forces in the LTTE are hoping enough political pressure is exerted so that they get enough time to rebuild their forces and launch counter-offenses.

This is the kind of thing the U.N. was created to help deal with, way back when. It's a pity it's so toothless.
 
GraphicMatt said:
It's the sad nature of Civil War. I worry that more militant forces in the LTTE are hoping enough political pressure is exerted so that they get enough time to rebuild their forces and launch counter-offenses.
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It's a valid fear. That's exactly what has happened in the past and that's exactly what's hardened the Sri Lankan government's attitudes towards the LTTE. The way I look at it, the LTTE overplayed their hand and they lost. They had a chance to make peace when they were doing well a few years ago. They gambled that they could win 100% and more of what they wanted. They lost the gamble and now their supporters in the expat community want to protect them from the consequences of their decisions.
 
It's still unclear how much the government can do. Bev Oda was in Colombo last week asking for a ceasefire. She got the same response as Miliband and the French minister before him. She also went to Colombo with dollars for Tamil areas to be distributed through the ICRC not the government.

I don't see what more the government can do. So what exactly do these protesters wants? At this stage our government has done all that they can do. Any further action (expulsion of the Sri Lankan High Comm or an embargo on Sri Lanka) would effectively erase much of our credibility with the Sri Lankan government (parallels here with Cuban Americans and their hold on US policy vis-a-vis Cuba) and make it harder to be involved in any future negotiations and peace process. What would they propose if they got their meeting with Harper? I can't see any practical suggestion beyond what the government is already doing.
 
Another Tamil Protest Expected Downtown On Wednesday
Tuesday May 12, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff

Get ready for the possibility of another very long day downtown on Wednesday. Tamil protestors reportedly intend to return to the downtown streets of Toronto, this time recreating an idea they first used in January - forming a human chain across the core.

Protestors are expected to gather and form a long line from Bloor to Yonge, around Front and Union Station and up University Ave. The first such gathering drew thousands of people but didn't disrupt traffic beyond creating a visual distraction. Police are hoping this one proves to be equally uneventful.

Cops can use the break. They admit the last few days have not been easy on them. The extra resources for Sunday's Gardiner protest was expensive and left the ranks thinned, as Toronto's finest were forced to keep many officers on duty past their shifts and call in reinforcements.

"There's a cost associated but people have to understand what we are saving here," Chief Bill Blair explains.

Another worry? While the officers were busy dealing with thousands of people on the Gardiner, it means they weren't available for other emergencies elsewhere in the city.

"It is impacting on the number of police officers we have patrolling the neighbourhoods and dealing with the other criminal activity that takes place throughout any large city, and so we are concerned about the impact, not only the impact of public safety of the demonstrations themselves, but the fact that it's drawing resources from across the city, it impacts every neighbourhood."


The Tamils have threatened more road closing rallies in the future, as the death toll mounts in the 25-year-long war in their Sri Lankan homeland. And they haven't ruled out taking their anger to one of the 400 series of highways. For now, they remain outside of Queen's Park, hoping governments will hear their pleas for intervention.

Their actions on Sunday have left the city divided on supporting their calls for action. Many feel those behind the protest should have been arrested for breaking the law. But Mayor David Miller assures cops acted responsibly.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_34513.aspx
 
GraphicMatt said:
Even if the situation is completely hopeless, I'd never ask them to stop trying. Friends and family are literally dying. Would you stop?
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No I wouldn't. But I would direct my efforts towards organizations that can make a difference: the UN, the Sri Lankan government, etc. Yes, I would encourage the Canadian government to keep at it. But I would not block a major highway, mere days after the government dispacted a minister to the region with pledges of aid. And if it was me, I would be equally upset that the tigers are holding my family and friends hostage in the conflict zone and using them as human shields. The last thing I would be doing is supporting them by waving a LTTE banner around.
 
smuncky said:
Another Tamil Protest Expected Downtown On Wednesday
The Tamils have threatened more road closing rallies in the future, as the death toll mounts in the 25-year-long war in their Sri Lankan homeland. And they haven't ruled out taking their anger to one of the 400 series of highways. For now, they remain outside of Queen's Park, hoping governments will hear their pleas for intervention.

Their actions on Sunday have left the city divided on supporting their calls for action. Many feel those behind the protest should have been arrested for breaking the law. But Mayor David Miller assures cops acted responsibly.
Click to expand...

Im getting worried of future protesting on our highway system, things may be different.:eek:
 
Also of note, comparisons to the Oka crisis are ridiculous. Oka was a riot by Canadian citizens with an aim towards a political end here in Canada. It was not a protest by a group attempting to pressure the Canadian government to interfere in a civil war in another country.

I would also argue that we should consider what our government would do if we had the same problem here. Last time around we crushed a nascent insurgency by resorting to military force and suspending personal freedoms and rights. And this was by the same Prime Minister who gave us the Charter. It's rather hypocritical to assert that the Sri Lankan government should not use military force against insurgents in Sri Lanka when we would well resort to force if we had an armed insurgency in Canada.
 
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As bad as it may sound...Maybe they'll try to block the 401 this time and a 53 footer accidentally plows a bunch of them down. Honestly, it's getting a bit ridiculous now. I couldn't care less about their cause at this point and can see why Sri Lanka is fed up themselves with this kind of approach they have to things.
 
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