Nearly one lakh people marched through the streets of Central London on April 11, 2009 demanding that the Sri Lankan Government immediately declare a ceasefire with the LTTE.

This massive London protest march was part of continuing protests in London over several days since April 7, 2009. Waving flags and placards and chanting for a truce, they streamed through the city's Trafalgar Square and on to Hyde Park behind a large banner reading "Britain act now! Immediate and permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka".
 
As one of the protestors pointed out, the British government has a major responsibility since it was the colonial policies that the British Empire had followed in the last century and continued in different forms after the end of the Second World War which had contributed largely to the grave situation in Sri Lanka today. The Tamil people have been deprived of their rights and conflicts have been continuing all the way since 1957.

Up to 3,000 protestors marched in central Paris. Four Tamils had been on a hunger strike at the site for five days to press for a truce in Sri Lanka. "No genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka," "Sri Lanka is a terrorist state," the protestors said. About 400 demonstrators gathered outside the Norwegian parliament in Oslo. In Copenhagen, about 50 demonstrators gathered near the foreign ministry building for a fourth straight day.

The civilian population in Northern Sri Lanka has been caught in the cross fire between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government has launched massive military operations against the people of the area, including aerial bombing, resulting in death and injuries to thousands of people. The Sri Lankan government has refused international relief agencies permission to enter the area and provide medical and other relief. The actions of the Sri Lankan Government clearly reveal it is not bothered about the terrible plight of the Tamil civilian population trapped in the battle area.

The Tamil problem of Sri Lanka demands a political solution, and this is what enlightened political forces in Sri Lanka are incessantly demanding. The "military solution" of the Sri Lankan government being carried out in the name of "war against terrorism" is the sure road to disaster for all the people of Sri Lanka.