TamilNet, April 02, 2001 21:23 GMT:
10,000 Tamils rally at UN
Over ten thousand Tamils rallied outside the United
Nations building in Geneva on Monday calling for international
pressure on Sri Lanka to negotiate with the Liberation Tigers and to
support of the Tamil right to self-determination. Tamil expatriates
converged from several European cities by special trains and busses to
take part in the annual peace march through the main streets of Geneva
to coincide with the occasion of the 57th session of the UN Commission
on Human Rights (UNCHR), organisers said.
The protesters called upon the Sri Lankan Government to
reciprocate the unilateral cease- fire of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam and to end the economic embargo on areas not controlled by
the Sri Lanka Army.
A resolution issued at the end of the rally also called
for a political solution based on the existence of a Tamil Homeland,
Tamil right to self-determination and Tamil nationhood.
The resolution also expressed dismay that Britain has
included the LTTE in its list of banned terrorist organisations.
The protestors called upon the international community to
persuade Sri Lanka to cease its "reign of terror" and to lift the bans
imposed on the LTTE so as to enable the Norway facilitated talks. They
also urged the international community not to forcibly deport Tamils
until a permanent political solution is found.