Never Ending Tamil Protest Fatigue

Since early January Toronto's Tamil community have been protesting the "genocide" in their homeland and demanding the Canadian government get involved. They demand that members of the government meet with them but thus far that hasn't happened. The reason from what I can glean is that at every demonstration, and they have been numerous, the Tamil Tiger flag is being prominently displayed. The Tamil Tigers are deemed to be a terrorist organization by our government. They are back at it today, the never ending Tamil protest and the city is held hostage again.

On Sunday they succeeded in closing one of Toronto's major expressways by simply rushing onto it and refusing to leave. The police were powerless, these people were using children in strollers as their shields. Children, can you believe it? They put their children in mortal danger by running onto a major highway into traffic. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka use child soldiers and are the "inventors" of suicide bombers. The occupation of the highway lasted hours and traffic in and around the city was a nightmare. I think they finally gave up around midnight when it got too cold for them up there on that elevated platform or maybe they took pity on their tired and hungry children. I kept wondering to myself as I saw them walk down, where was the Children's Aid Society and why weren't they waiting to interview these irresponsible parents.

These protests are becoming a daily thing here in Toronto and with each passing day as major roads are closed in the downtown core most people are loosing any sympathy they once had for the Tamil cause. Last week the main road leading to four major hospitals was closed for three days. These people refused to leave and the police were powerless. How can you tear gas a crowd when there are children?

What makes this so galling is that at the same time this was going on a group of people who are against the city taking one lane out of a major artery and turning it into green space where handing out information sheets to cars stopped at red lights. They weren't lying down in the street, they didn't have bullhorns, they weren't chanting, they were simply handing out information flyers. Within an hour the police arrived and asked them to move or else they would be arrested for causing a disturbance!!!

The Tamil protesters face no such threat, their right to protest seems sacred somehow.