Tamil Nadu on the boil ahead of UN vote on Sri Lanka war crimes
21 March 2013 8:05 AM IST
The protests in Tamil Nadu, seeking justice for war victims in Sri Lanka and an international trial into the genocide, have entered its 12th day on Wednesday with protests intensifying just ahead of the vote on the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka war crimes on Thursday.
On Wednesday, more than 1,000 students from different city colleges and universities staged a sit-in protest near Gandhi Statue on Marina Beach. Students from different institutions including schools have joined in.
‘We demand a fair trial of war criminals in Lanka. Indian government should do justice to the victims by taking a rights-based stand,’ said Deepak Johnson, a student of Madras-IIT.
Rajkumar Raj, a Political Science student of Presidency College, said the issue is not only limited to Tamils but is also an international human rights issue.
Earlier this morning, a large group of advocates and Tamil activists marched to Raj Bhavan, the official residence of state governor K Rosaiah, but was stopped by the police.
The protest which begun as a fast-unto-death by a group of students affiliated to All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF) attached to the Loyola College spilled out beyond the hands of organisers when the students were asked to move out of AICUF campus by the city police on 9 March. Many of them had been arrested on 10 March at a protest venue near Koyambedu, after they gave a hostile reception to TNCC president K V Thangkabalu.
‘We will not allow any political party or Tamil nationalist outfit to influence this protest,’ shouted a student while raising slogans against the Congress leader.
The strike that continued on 11 March took no time in getting support from other colleges in the state. The overwhelming response from students, especially from those who study in seemingly apolitical and ‘disciplined’ campuses like Loyola, Madras Christian College, IIT-Madras, gave momentum to the protests.
On Wednesday, more than 1,000 students from different city colleges and universities staged a sit-in protest near Gandhi Statue on Marina Beach. Students from different institutions including schools have joined in.
‘We demand a fair trial of war criminals in Lanka. Indian government should do justice to the victims by taking a rights-based stand,’ said Deepak Johnson, a student of Madras-IIT.
Rajkumar Raj, a Political Science student of Presidency College, said the issue is not only limited to Tamils but is also an international human rights issue.
Earlier this morning, a large group of advocates and Tamil activists marched to Raj Bhavan, the official residence of state governor K Rosaiah, but was stopped by the police.
The protest which begun as a fast-unto-death by a group of students affiliated to All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF) attached to the Loyola College spilled out beyond the hands of organisers when the students were asked to move out of AICUF campus by the city police on 9 March. Many of them had been arrested on 10 March at a protest venue near Koyambedu, after they gave a hostile reception to TNCC president K V Thangkabalu.
‘We will not allow any political party or Tamil nationalist outfit to influence this protest,’ shouted a student while raising slogans against the Congress leader.
The strike that continued on 11 March took no time in getting support from other colleges in the state. The overwhelming response from students, especially from those who study in seemingly apolitical and ‘disciplined’ campuses like Loyola, Madras Christian College, IIT-Madras, gave momentum to the protests.
Next Story
