Tamil Protest Road Shutdowns: Are There More To Come?

It happened before. But it had never quite happened like this. Now all of Toronto is wondering: will it happen again and what will police do when it does?

The question surrounds the Tamil protest that brought the Gardiner Expressway at the Spadina onramp to a halt on Sunday night, leaving thousands of drivers trapped and parts of the downtown core gridlocked for more than six hours.

Things got worse when officers were forced to cut off access to the DVP from the 401, as well.

The impromptu protest began around 6:30pm, when marchers – who had spent most of the day voicing their displeasure with the Canadian and Ontario response to reported genocide in their Sri Lankan homeland – descended, apparently unplanned, on the busy highway. At first, it was just a trickle and police were able to fend them off.

But as the crowd swelled, the bike cops on the scene couldn’t hold them back and the trickle became a stream and then a sea of humanity, surging through the barriers one by one. It became violent at times, with the bicycles the cops were riding thrown over the side of the Gardiner.

Two women and a man were arrested for assaulting police and mischief, but by then it was too late.

Thousands of protestors had taken up a position on the roadway, refusing to budge. The realization that there were many young children and women among the flag-carrying parade only made things worse. Cops were afraid to move in and clear them out, as thousands of trapped motorists fumed, and thousands more tried desperately to find a way around the blockade.

The situation left Police Chief Bill Blair between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t have enough officers to move in, and was worried about someone falling off the ledges of the raised Gardiner. But he also needed to get traffic moving again.

The scenario left him unable to make any move, even as the public demanded arrests, and reinforcements arrived from the RCMP and the OPP.

“It’s quite reprehensible,” he condemns the day after. “Sometimes things happen in a crowd. And crowd mentalities can result in surges and stampedes. If there are children in the path of that, it can be incredibly dangerous. I would hope that parents and that entire community would be far more responsible of putting children into a dangerous situation. It’s totally unacceptable.”

The protestors refused to move until a federal official appeared and offered to take their cause to Ottawa. Finally, a member of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s office made the long trek to the highway and the crowd dispersed, with many of them returning from where they originally started – Queen’s Park.

The next day, the Liberal boss issued a statement alternately supporting their cause and decrying their methods.  “I urge Canadian Tamils to continue raising this issue publicly, and to give it the attention it deserves,” the statement from Ignatieff read. “But I implore them to do so legally and safely, by working with their elected representatives and through legal means of protest, and not through demonstrations that put public safety at risk.”

But he also condemned the Tamil Tigers, noting they’re considered a terrorist group in Canada.

The demonstrators insist more than 1,000 people – including many of their relatives – were killed in just one day of fighting and they have to do something – anything –  to get it to stop. That starts with raising awareness and getting governments around the world to condemn the violence.

Because reporters are not allowed into the war zone, there’s no way to independently verify the figures. But the casualty toll has been both high and bloody in the 25-year-long war.

Both Blair and the mayor have come under scrutiny and criticism for their actions – or lack of them – Sunday night. “People are entitled to protest in this country,” agrees David Miller. “It’s one of the core values in our Constitution. They’re not entitled to occupy the Gardiner Expressway. And that’s a police matter and police have handled these events very appropriately.” 

Even Dalton McGuinty, whose daughter has worked in Sri Lana as an aid worker, decried the road stoppage. “There is a right way and a wrong way to protest. There is a lawful way and an unlawful way. And it’s lawful to protest from the front lawn of Queen’s Park.”

That’s where about 50-100 demonstrators spent the night, after they were finally convinced to move off the highway. More returned with the daylight. Other demonstrators stood outside the Sri Lankan Consulate near St. Clair Ave. and Yonge St. (below) shouting for change.

And though the Gardiner reopened early Monday, it wasn’t until just before 11am that University Ave. was cleared in both directions between Queen and Dundas Sts. Though there were no protesters in the area, RCMP officers in riot gear were standing guard outside the U.S. Consulate, where Tamil demonstrators staged a days-long protest more than a week ago, shutting down the busy intersection.

Last Friday, Scarborough-Agincourt MP Jim Karygiannis and a number of Tamil-Canadians from his riding met with UN officials to discuss the ongoing situation in Sri Lanka.
 
“This was an opportunity for my constituents to tell their stories directly to people who have access to the Security Council members,” Karygiannis said in a statement. “It was obvious that although the stories were not new, they had an effect on the UN officials.”

The protest continued at Queen’s Park Monday, where one man is proving his desperation by continuing on his ‘as-long-as-it-takes’ hunger strike. “There’s a systematic genocide going on,” pleads Gunam Veerakathipilla, who hasn’t eaten in nine days. “Please understand the Tamil community problem. Please raise that problem through our Prime Minister.”

Many Toronto residents inconvenienced by the protest are now wondering whether – based on the actions of police – it’s going to happen again. On Monday, CityNews’ Kris Reyes asked one of the protestors if they had any other plans for more demonstrations and road blocks.

One said they were considering the 401 as a possible target but insisted he was joking.

But many local drivers who were stuck for hours on Sunday night are no longer laughing.

Read viewer reaction to Sunday’s demonstration

Previous stories:

Gardiner Reopens Following Massive Protest

Another Tamil Rally Descends On U.S. Consulate

Scuffles Break Out As Tamil Protest Enters Its Third Day

University Avenue Finally Reopens As Police Move Tamil Protesters Onto Sidewalk

Statement from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff on Sunday’s Tamil protest in Toronto:

Yesterday, in collaboration with police and out of concern for public safety, Liberal Party officials intervened to help end the demonstration by Tamils on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. The protest had blocked the highway and put the safety of the protesters and innocent bystanders — including women and small children — at risk.

At no point did Liberal Members of Parliament or staff participate in yesterday’s protest.

Our Party has raised, and will continue to raise, the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka in the House of Commons. We will continue to demand action by the Canadian government to address the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka.

But the Liberal Party of Canada stands firmly against terrorism, and I restate our unequivocal condemnation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

I urge Canadian Tamils to continue raising this issue publicly, and to give it the attention it deserves. But I implore them to do so legally and safely, by working with their elected representatives and through legal means of protest, and not through demonstrations that put public safety at risk.