Looking less confrontational, but still holding strong, Canadian Tamils continued a protest on Wednesday that began three days ago.
The demonstrators have been outside the U.S. Consulate on
University Avenue near Armoury Street since 7pm Sunday night, demanding U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper intervene in the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka. And as a result, the street remains closed between Dundas and Queen.
Specifically, they are calling for a ceasefire between the government and the Tamil rebels. A U.N. report released this week suggested as many as 6,500 civilians have been killed in the violence to date.
It's not the first time the GTA's Tamil community - the world's largest outside its homeland - has tied up city streets.
In January, thousands linked arms in
a human chain that extended from Bloor and Yonge down University to Front. And the same evening, as many as 10,000 people
flooded Front Street in front of Union Station, bringing rush-hour traffic in the area to a standstill.
Similar protests have followed since. But, with the exception of a
small scuffle on Tuesday morning, all demonstrations have been well-organized and peaceful.
Still, sympathetic Toronto residents are getting fed up with the disruptions.
CityNews has received
email from viewers who feel it's not right for a main street to be tied up for so long.
But Police Chief Bill Blair says the Tamil-Canadians are well within their rights.
"The subway hasn't been affected. The streetcars are running well on Dundas at University. We're monitoring the traffic very carefully," he noted. "I appreciate there is a minor inconvenience, but this is a fairly significant issue to a lot of Torontonians. They come down here and they have the freedom and democratic right to express their opinion. We're trying to facilitate that while minimizing the impact on the rest of the city."
The protesters had vowed to stay until after a U.N. meeting Wednesday to discuss the crisis. But now they are saying unless the matter is resolved to their satisfaction, the rally will continue indefinitely.