A busy Toronto street remained closed Tuesday morning as a protest by Tamils in front of the U.S. Consulate
entered its third day.
Demonstrators continued their chants through the night in what has so far been a loud but peaceful demonstration. It began Sunday night as organizers brought sleeping bags to camp out overnight.
The calm threatened to turn into something more violent on Tuesday morning after a few small scuffles broke out among several protesters. Police managed to break them up before they escalated into something out of their control.
But some were crying police brutality. "This is not democracy in this country ... And a mad police touches me - it's illegal!" screamed a protestor named Luxmy.
University Avenue remains closed between Queen and Dundas Sts., and there's no indication when it might reopen.
Frustrated protesters want the U.S. and Canadian governments to put pressure on Sri Lanka to call a ceasefire in its offensive against the Tamil people. They vow to stay put, for days if necessary, until something changes.
The Tamil Tigers called for a unilateral ceasefire in the 25-year civil war this past weekend, but the Sinhalese-dominated government has refused.
"My feeling is the Canadian government is not supporting the Tamil people, that's where this problem is coming," said a protestor named Mageswara. "But they are officers, they are doing their duty, I understand that."
Toronto police haven't made any attempts to remove the protesters as of yet, although they did move them to the northbound lanes of University Ave. in order to keep the southbound lanes open for emergency vehicles.
The protestors admit what they're doing is a major inconvenience but add they have no other way to get their message across. And they say the violence back home is escalating, taking more and more lives of loved ones every day.
"Thousands are dying a day - thousands!" alleges Siva Pimal. "These people are innocent civilians, a lot of them family members to people in this protest here. They're dying by the day. I personally lost four, I know people in the crowd who have lost 11 family members in one day."
It's expected the protest will continue through Wednesday. And it's clear those behind it don't give up easily. A demonstration on Parliament Hill earlier this month went on for 18 days straight.
Protest traffic disruptions spark anger