Protesting for peace

LONDON – Protestors gathered in front of the Houses of Parliament in London on Friday to support the Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka.

For more than 25 years, the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority ethnic groups have been fighting in Sri Lanka. The civil war ended Sunday when the Tamils admitted defeat after the government rejected their cease-fire proposal. Rebel official Selvarasa Pathmanathan said in a statement Sunday that the group had no option left to protect the civilians in the area but to stop fighting. He appealed to the government to reciprocate and enter peace talks.

In London, many of the protestors, who are British Tamil students and their family and friends, had been in front of the Houses of Parliament since April 6, according to a pamphlet handed out by protesters.

“For days, we are coming here to ask the British government for help,” said Kandasamy Kjeyasegaram, a participant in the protest on Friday. “At the moment, there is a civil war going on. We’re asking the British government to stop the war and help the people.”

– The Associated Press contributed to this report