Tamils Occupy Gardiner Expressway
Sri Lankan Civil War Protest Closes Major Toronto Road
May 12, 2009
It was the latest in an escalating series of protests against the civil war in Sri Lanka. The most recent saw another downtown road, University Avenue closed for three days. The Gardiner Expressway is one of the main routes into downtown Toronto running from the 427 in the north to the Don Valley Parkway in the south.
Protest Triggered By Weekend Violence, Police Response Restrained
The protest was triggered by a night of bombing, which, some sources claim left approximate two thousand dead, and over one thousand wounded. The Sri Lankan government, and Tamil Tigers blame each other for the attack, the latest in the civil war that’s been going on since 1983.
A doctor working at a hospital in the war zone confirmed the higher estimate of deaths. In remarks printed by the Toronto Star, Dr. Shanmugarajah admitted the situation was becoming desperate: “Nothing is within our control.” The numbers of dead and wounded are nearly impossible to verify because there are no international press, and aid organizations in the area.
Many of those present at the Gardiner protests have family members in the war zone, and were marching for them. They defended their actions as acts of desperation. One protester described their frustration in comments published on metronews.ca: “We asked. We begged the government. We are fed up.”
Preferring to negotiate an end to the protest, the police response was restrained. In the end negotiation worked, in remarks published on metronews.ca Police Chief Bill Blair shared his relief, and that he was happy with the outcome: “We were able to reach out to some people within the crowd and within the community, to receive some help from community members and some of our political leaders to do a bit of an intervention.”
Police did arrest three people on charges of assault after the suspects struggled with bicycle cops as the group entered the Gardiner.
Ottawa, Queen’s Park Respond To Tamil Protest
All leaders agree the Tamils have a right to protest. But not all agree on the method. In remarks published on cbc.ca Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he had sympathy for the cause but wished they did it a different way: “I understand the passions that are here. But having said that, there is a right way to protest, and a wrong way to protest.”
In comments published on cbc.ca Toronto Mayor David Miller echoed those sentiments saying he understood the concern over events in Sri Lanka, but: “Endangering public safety by occupying the Gardiner or other public highways is not the right way to make that statement.”
It’s rumoured that before leaving the protest, some participants were in touch with Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff’s office and received a promise the civil war would be brought up in the House Of Commons. May 11th it was, and in response to the questions, International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda answered that she was in Sri Lanka a week ago and announced aid funding as well as continuing to pressure the government there for a ceasefire.
The Canadian Government has named the Tamil Tigers a terrorist group. The protesters say they will continue fighting for their cause, and haven’t entirely ruled out blocking another highway.
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