LIONS AND TIGERS

Just because the civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan military has come to an end (or maybe a pause) the suffering of the islands Tamil civilians continues unabated. In order to hammer home this message, British peace campaigner Maria Gallastegui imprisoned herself in a mock-up concentration camp in front of Churchill’s statue, Parliament Square. 

Tens of thousands of Tamils suffer appalling conditions at the hands of the Sri Lankan state. At least 250,000 are being held in concentration camps where whole communities have been uprooted and collectively punished (See SchNEWS 681, 672). 

Maria managed to stay put, surrounded by barbed wire and placards on a plinth under the shadow of the old Tory, from the early hours until mid-morning on Wednesday (1st). She was evicted by cops who, rather than use a specialist cutting team, seem to have used some blokes from the council and a stepladder to remove the barbed wire wreathed protester. 

Maria was arrested for a host of spurious rubbish - criminal damage (nothing was so much as scratched) and that old standby public order offence of ‘threatening words or behaviour likely to cause alarm or distress’, as well as some mumblings about byelaws. The only distress around seemed to be found in the porcine form of Churchill’s grandson, Nicholas Soames, who was reportedly thoroughly narked at his ancestor’s legacy being subverted for peaceful causes. There was talk of Maria getting an ASBO for her persistent opposition to genocide. Maria was released the same day (after eight hours in the nick).

* See http://peacestrike.org.uk