Tamil refugees join May Day march protesting Sri Lanka War Crimes

The Trade Union Congress' annual May Day march to celebrate International Labour Day saw around ten thousand union members, International Communist groups, Anti-Globalists and Human Rights organisations representing Turkish, Kurdish, Chilean, Colombian, Peruvian, Portuguese, West Indian,
Sri Lankan, Cypriot, Tamil, Iraqi, Iranian, Irish, Nigerian migrant workers & communities marching from Clerkenwell Green to Trafalgar Square for a rally where there were speeches from several international trade union groups.

Prominent on this year's march was a large group of Tamil refugees and exiles who are demanding that key members of the Sri Lankan government and military be prosecuted for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Tamil people following the full-scale military assault on the Tamils in 2009.

A United Nations expert panel investigating violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the civil war found "credible allegations" which, if proven, indicated that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers, with hundreds of thousands of innocent Tamils stuck in the middle of the conflict. The expert panel has called on the UN Secretary General to conduct an independent international inquiry into the alleged violations of international law.

The Sri Lankan government has denied that its forces committed any war crimes and has strongly opposed any investigation.