South Asia News
Tamil protests in southern India over Sri Lanka war
Feb 4, 2009, 12:09 GMT
New Delhi - Political parties and pressure groups Wednesday called a general strike in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu to protest Sri Lanka's military offensive against the Tamil rebels.
Some incidents of violence were reported as protestors blocked trains, stoned buses and ransacked a post office in different parts of the state.
At least 30 students were arrested for attempting to blockade roads in state capital Chennai where nearly 8,000 police were deployed, local police said.
'There were a few incidents of violence but nobody was injured in the protests. The strike had little effect on daily life as public transport services operated and people attended offices,' a senior state official said.
The state government had called the strike illegal and warned it would take strict action against those supporting it.
The Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement, an umbrella group of pro-Tamil Tiger organizations, including regional opposition parties, called the strike in solidarity with an estimated 250,000 civilians in the war zones in northern Sri Lanka.
Tamils in the southern Indian state, estimated to number about 60 million, have close links with Sri Lanka's Tamils and anger has been growing in Tamil Nadu over allegations that scores of civilians have been killed by the Sri Lankan military.
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