Sri Lankans in Finland demonstrate against LTTE

Sri Lankans living in Finland gathered in Helsinki to take part in a demonstration staged against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.

The demonstration was held for two hours in Helsinki city centre opposite the Finnish Parliament with a strong participation of peace-loving Sri Lankans and Finns alike.

Finland comprises a small Sri Lankan community of around 300 expatriates. Finland has shown interest in Sri Lanka's political footing as it was part of the SLMM during 2002 to 2008. This demonstration against the LTTE was the first of its kind in Finland.

The demonstrators exhibited photographs showing atrocities carried out by the LTTE. They also distributed leaflets requesting the proscription of the terrorist.

The Sri Lankan community in Finland believe that this demonstration opposite the Parliament was important due to the reason that they were able to present their message "people behind terrorism should be condemned by all" and portray the consequences of terrorism to common people as well as the legislators.

They requested the Finnish Government to cooperate in defeating terrorism and bring back peace and harmony to Sri Lanka.