Sinhalese mob attacks Tamil demonstrators in Melbourne

 A group of around 50 Sinhala expatriates, some of them allegedly inebriated, attacked a car-rally demonstration organised by the Eezham Tamil diaspora in Melbourne Saturday noon protesting genocide of their kith and kin in the island of Sri Lanka and demanding immediate end of the war waged by Colombo government. A few Eezham Tamils were injured and their cars were damaged in the attack. One of the attackers also reportedly got injured in the melee.

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The attack is said to have taken place while the cars in the rally were waiting for signal on Exhibition Street. The attackers were reportedly returning from a parallel demonstration by them that took place 2 km away from the junction.

A car of the Tamil rally carrying flag and banner strayed close to the demonstration of the Sinhalese
The Melbourne police had to resort to the use of spray to control the Sinhala mob.

 

A young journalist who was taking photographs of the demonstration said that the mob tried to snatch his camera and that he was injured on the neck.

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The Sinhala demonstrators also snatched away the flag and banner displayed by one of the cars of the Tamil rally that strayed close to the venue of their demonstration.

In Australia and New Zealand, where Sinhalese and Tamil diaspora live in more or less in equal numbers, a "bitter competition" is going on in organising demonstrations.

A few days ago, the Tamil demonstrators in New Zealand also faced intimidation from a Sinhala mob, which tried to snatch away the flags carried by Tamil demonstrators.

Earlier, during Tamil demonstrations, the Sinhala expatriates organised aircraft to display banners saying "Save Sri Lanka from Tamil Tigers," in New Zealand and in Canberra in Australia.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, the Tamil demonstrators displayed an aircraft-laden banner "Sri Lanka Stop killing Tamil civilians," in the outskirts of Melbourne.

Intimidation of the Eezham Tamil diaspora seems to be globally orchestrated by the Colombo government and by its diplomatic missions.

Last December, an Eezham Tamil was knifed in Frankfurt, Germany, allegedly by Sinhala thugs deployed by the Sri Lankan consulate outside of an exhibition organised by it.

On March 24, the Sri Lankan High Commission in UK, sent a letter smirking of intimidation to schools in London that accommodate academic discussions on genocide in Sri Lanka by students.

Meanwhile, last weekend, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry organised an esoteric conference with a select few of the Tamil diaspora. Political circles in Colombo said that the idea was to create an image necessary for the Colombo government to seek funds from international donors by showing that it is positively engaging the Tamil diaspora.

The conference, initially planned in Singapore, was abandoned allegedly due to ‘security reasons’. The Tamil delegates who participated said nothing on stopping the war, but wanted the Tamil diaspora to financially support the government’s ‘rehabilitation’ in the North and East.

[Full Coverage]

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