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34 Comments

news

University Avenue Re-Opens

By David Topping

After several days of sustained protest from Toronto’s Tamil community that effectively shut University Avenue down to traffic, the Toronto Police Service reports that—as of 9:13 a.m.—the street is back open in both directions [PDF].

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  • http://undefined endapartheid

    This is an extreme abuse of police power and a violation of peoples democratic rights to free assembly. Just yesterday police chief Bill Blair was quoted on TV as stating that the protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, that disruptions were relatively minor and that this type of protest was protected in a democracy. There is no credible justification for such a forcible removal of individuals from the scene. The only people injured so far in these protests have been Tamils at the hands of the police.
    The right to free assembly and the ability to engage in peaceful civil disobedience are essential to any rights struggle. Obama wouldn’t be President today if African-Americans didn’t ‘break the law’ and stage sit-ins and protests to agitate for equality. 1.5-million Tamils have been expelled from their homeland, in the last 4 months alone 6500 Tamil civilians have been killed. 100,000s are trapped in free-fire zones and tens of thousands are being held in deplorable internment camps.
    The Canadian government needs to immediately impose an arms embargo on the Sri Lankan military and targeted sanctions on officials in Columbo who are complicit in the current massacre of the Tamil people. Canada went to war with Yugoslavia exactly 10 years ago for much less than this! How is this any different? In fact, if you look at the numbers the plight of the Tamil people is much worse than that of the Kosovo Albanians. Don’t the Tamil people also deserve justice? Is one city block really more important than the concerns of 300,000 Tamil-Canadians living in Toronto?

  • http://undefined deadrobot

    I would hardly qualify removal of protesters after a three day stint on public land an “extreme abuse of police power”

  • http://undefined Mike

    >Is one city block really more important than the concerns of 300,000 Tamil-Canadians living in Toronto?
    Yes. This isn’t a just a city block. This is one of the most critical arteries in the country. The fact that they were allowed to stay as long as they were is a testament to the Canadian respect for free speech.
    Genocide is bad and people should be doing something about it, but trying to shut down the city isn’t one that most people are going to tolerate.

  • http://www.torontoist.com David Topping

    Genocide: officially less of a big deal than University Avenue being open to cars.

  • http://undefined Mike

    If you want to trivialize the importance of roads in maintaining our quality of life, go ahead. Just don’t expect anyone (with a job) to take you seriously.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    The city wasn’t shut down. I think that’s just hyperbole. There was no major traffic clogging during the past few days. Bill Blair himself admitted that the disruption was minor. Alternate pathways were secured for emergency vehicles. Nothing has changed for the Tamils nor have the Canadian or US governments made any substantial steps to put real pressure on the Sri Lankan government. The reasons for the protest still stand.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    I have a job as do most of the Tamil folks protesting (that’s why the numbers are significantly bigger at night than during the day – when most of the people present go to jobs and work long hours after spending a night protesting on city streets to end the mass slaughter of their people). I don’t know what kind of racist, anti-refugee/immigrant premises your operating under to assume that Tamils are jobless. If the Tamils actual stopped working, much of this city would be shut down. You should be thankful to the Tamil community for its commitment to democracy and human rights and contributing to Toronto’s economy, instead of dissing any dark-skinned community demanding some respect from the racist and xenophobic government currently holding power in Ottawa on less than 35% of the vote.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    Hm… Let me see here deadrobot, trampling women with police horses, pushing old men to the ground, tackling people who don’t move ‘fast enough’ is hardly responsible policing. The community has organizers and these things can be negotiated. The organizers from what I’ve seen have been very open to suggestions on minimizing their impact on the city and surrounding neighborhood. They had organized trash collection that kept the street clean, they agreed not to use amplification equipment or noise-makers at night, etc. The only people injured in these protests and that suffered any violence were Tamils at the hands of the police. So yes, this is an abuse of power (especially after the police chief gives assurances that your rights will be protected and then next day orders your forced removal while you exercise your rights).

  • http://undefined montauk

    People were trampled by horses?

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    You know? Maybe you should just go fuck yourself. Anyone with a different opinion than you, does not deserve to be called a racist or anti-refugee/immigrant.
    if you take a minute to catch your breath, you’d realize you’re not actually debating his point (his response to D. Topping). It obviously (in all your rage) has gone way over your head.
    >trampling women with police horses
    Pictures? Video?

  • http://undefined Andrew

    Of course, there’s an argument to be made that these people should be allowed to protest as long as they like. Generally their protest was peaceful and well-behaved, and the plight of civilians in the warzone is terrible, and needs a higher profile (genocide though? debatable).
    My problem is the protesters’ reverence for the LTTE, who (along with the Sri Lankan army) are directly responsible for civilian suffering. As recently as a few weeks ago, the BBC reported that the LTTE was attacking refugees, for the crime of not staying behind to act as human shields.
    Both sides have committed terrible crimes in this war, and there is no righteous party, only victims. How can one be asked to turn a blind eye to one side or the other, in order to support the victims?

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    Yes. As I said one woman was trampled by a horse yesterday and was injured as a result.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    torontothegreat. that’s some great debating skillz there. i guess you can only swear when you don’t have actual arguments. that’s pretty sad, but typical of the police state mentality of people who can’t countenance any displays of public dissent that don’t jive with their opinions.
    i don’t know what you mean about my response to d. topping. i agree with what he has to say. yes, i posted a comment on this story to add some additional information, not to argue against d. topping.
    as for the racism issue, implying that people don’t have jobs because they’re at a protest is pretty biased / stereoptyped and in this context is pretty racist as well.
    as for me being ‘angry’… i am actually not angry at all, i’m stating points that are overlooked by the people so filled with road rage on this list that they are demanding heavy handed police action against Tamils blocking one lane, on one city block as a protest against the genocide of their people.
    as for the woman and the horse, yes. at least one woman was confirmed to have been trampled. it was on city tv last night and if i could find the link i would post it. she was shown clutching her leg in pain. two days ago city tv reported that 3 other people were hospitalized during an earlier scuffle. these numbers are smaller than those reported by people at the scene, but lets just go with the media figures for now.

  • http://undefined rek

    Do you have any evidence of this wanton police brutality? Trampling, tackling, etc.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    Hi Andrew:
    Thanks for these comments. As you know not everyone at the demonstrations is necessarily an LTTE supporter. Also, this is part of free expression, but I definitely agree that the LTTE has been responsible for documented human rights abuses (though again, these pale in comparison to those documented on the side of the Sri Lankan military – not that either justify each other!).
    Given that the Canadian government already has declared the LTTE a ‘terrorist organization’ do you not think that Ottawa should also call for an arms embargo on Sri Lanka and targeted sanctions on SLA officials responsible for the killing of 6500 Tamil civilians in the last four months? That would seem to be the thing where the rest of us can push for a further curtailing of some of the causes of violence (i.e. arms flow, etc).

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    Yes. If you watch CityTV or CTV video you will see footage of police tackling demonstrators, at least one person being trampled on her leg, an old man being pushed against a cement block (his back was slammed against it). From people on the scene, these incidents were unprovoked and the community wasn’t given much time to discuss compliance, but was quickly forced off with little warning. That’s not good policing, it’s actually defined as police brutality and is usually identified as such when the perpetrators are official state enemies of Canada.

  • mister j

    I pretty much completely agree with all you say here. Thank you for posting.
    On the other hand, I’m really disappointed that so many of the comments here and on other news sites express the opinion that the blockage of ONE road is ‘worse’ than what these people are fighting for. I just can’t believe people believe their ‘right’ to go down University Ave is more important than the death of all these people.

  • http://undefined deadrobot

    After three days of blocking off a major route to one of Canada’s major financial district without incident or acknowledgment from *any* government, I would expect nothing less from the police than a show of force, regardless of who you are or what you’re protesting about.
    Your comment “extreme abuse of police power” brings up images of shooting rubber bullets into the crowd, tear gas, or tasering.
    Trampling? As far as I can find is “one woman is *said* to have been injured”. 15 Arrests? Out of the hundreds that were there? Good odds it was peaceably done.
    And let’s not lose sight that the protest is still going on. “Abuse” would mean an utter shut down of that little block party.

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    >torontothegreat. that’s some great debating skillz there. i guess you can only swear when you don’t have actual arguments. that’s pretty sad, but typical of the police state mentality of people who can’t countenance any displays of public dissent that don’t jive with their opinions.
    I’m not debating you (or did you miss that?). Clearly you’re here to call people names and not debate yourself. Hence the harshness of my response. You shouldn’t expect anything lighter after calling people racists.
    >i don’t know what you mean about my response to d. topping. i agree with what he has to say. yes, i posted a comment on this story to add some additional information, not to argue against d. topping.
    Do you have a comprehension problem? That would explain your awkward approach (to say the least) at getting people on your side. You replied to Mike, with a response that had NOTHING at all to do with is response to D. Topping. Over your head still?
    >as for the racism issue, implying that people don’t have jobs because they’re at a protest is pretty biased / stereoptyped and in this context is pretty racist as well.
    See above para.
    >as for me being ‘angry’… i am actually not angry at all, i’m stating points that are overlooked by the people so filled with road rage on this list that they are demanding heavy handed police action against Tamils blocking one lane, on one city block as a protest against the genocide of their people.
    Perhaps, people don’t agree with you (OMGWTFBBQ SHOCKING!!!!!!!) I didn’t realize you had some knowledge or understanding towards their motives. It still doesn’t give you the right to ‘assume’ that they are racist. I don’t support the Tamil Tigers or anyone else that supports them, just as I wouldn’t support Jihadists. Does that automatically label me a racist? Until such a time that this group can control the use of this flag (they should be doing this already), they can all go to hell as far as I’m concerned.
    >as for the woman and the horse, yes. at least one woman was confirmed to have been trampled. it was on city tv last night and if i could find the link i would post it. she was shown clutching her leg in pain. two days ago city tv reported that 3 other people were hospitalized during an earlier scuffle. these numbers are smaller than those reported by people at the scene, but lets just go with the media figures for now.
    IOW:
    Blah blah blah, I read it on the internet, but I can’t provide proof.
    >trampling women with police horses
    >Yes. As I said one woman was trampled by a horse
    and you expect anyone to take you seriously? You do realize the difference between the plural ‘women’ vs the singular’ woman don’t you?

  • http://undefined Mark Ostler

    I read (on the Star’s website I think, but it could have been elsewhere) that one woman had her foot stepped on by a horse. The word “trampled” conjures up a far harsher image. A horse stepping on your foot isn’t nice at all, but I don’t think that constitutes a “trampling”.

  • http://undefined Andrew

    Anyone who hoists a Tiger flag (and there are a lot of them), while decrying the abuse of civilians in the war zone, is either ignorant or a hypocrite. But, based on your comments in a different thread, I guess that opinion makes me a racist, right? Get lost.

  • http://undefined atomeyes

    Please let me know when these same Tamil people will be protesting the LTTE for apparently using Tamils as human shields, firing at Tamils and forcing children to join their fighting force.
    Methinks that also requires a bit of a sit-in, don’t ya think?
    and its laughable that you are complaining about a woman being TRAMPLED by a police horse. i took the TTC the other day and someone TRAMPLED me as well when they accidentally stepped on my baby toe. talk about holy hyperboles….

  • http://www.bitpicture.com Marc Lostracco

    The actual issue aside, one of the reasons the police use horses to control crowds is because it’s much, much, much safer than using vehicles (and they can see over everyone’s heads).
    I’ve been stepped on multiple times and even rolled-over-upon by horses, and though they look big and heavy, they’re also nimble and are unlikely to do very much damage, if any at all. Not to downplay anyone’s injury, but having a horse step on your foot isn’t always as horrifying or painful as it sounds. It pretty much depends on what part of the foot they step on, but remember that the horse’s weight is spread across three other legs, and that horses tend not to put pressure on a leg that isn’t on solid ground—particularly police horses, who are trained in crowd control and to walk on pavement.
    I’m sure this will conjure up someone else’s horror story about being trampled by a horse, etc., but I just thought I’d throw that in there. I’d rather have my foot stepped on by a horse than have a nightstick jammed in my ribs.

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    Marc, I grew up on an Arabian Horse farm and I can attest to everything you just said.

  • http://undefined bt1980

    From http://www.thestar.com/article/626727
    “At one point on Monday morning, the closure stretched north to College St., blocking access to the front of three hospitals.”
    I get irritated when I see or hear about people blocking ambulances and hospitals. I don’t care what your agenda is. Sometimes I daydream about driving a bulldozer to clear paths for ambulances through the city.
    The way to win over support is to inform the uninformed. The way to get people to listen to you is not by blocking their way to work or to the hospital.
    There are more effective ways to earn the ears, sympathy, and time of others.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    Your tolerance is amazing… :)

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    atomeyes. are you actually serious? the LTTE was created as a response to the systematic denial of Tamil rights. Tamils had been struggling for equal rights in Sri Lanka using non-violent tactics for decades, before the LTTE came on the scene. certainly Tamils aren’t going to start protesting the only force that is defending them. and if you’re really comparing police brutality to a rush hour crowd on the TTC, well, I can’t really say much in response. it’s really easy to pontificate how people should act when you’re not on the receiving end of a mass slaughter, media demonization and police brutality.

  • http://undefined endapartheid

    There was nothing peaceable about arrests. People are being charged with ‘mischief’ which is usually the charge cops give when they don’t have a good reason to charge you. What makes you so sure that the arrests were peaceable? Blind faith in the police force? The Toronto Police kills extrajudicially at least one person every two months in this city. Often killing people who are unarmed at the time of apprehension. There’s nothing suggesting that Torontonians should simply believe that the police are acting reasonably.

  • http://undefined PickleToes

    I think it’s important for everybody (read: endapartheid) to realize that while, yes, you do have the right to protest, that doesn’t mean that you’re free to shut down arterial roads and inconvenience people. After all, the purpose of protesting is to express an opinion, not to cause chaos. The protesters should have been arrested the moment they gathered along University Ave. What’s wrong with Queen’s Park? It’s just up the street, and there you can express your opinion without unfairly disrupting the lives of others

  • http://undefined BlueFairlane

    Speaking of hyperbole, are there really 300,000 Tamil-Canadians living in Toronto?

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    yea I was wondering the same thing, that number seems really high considering our population. Can anyone actually confirm this?
    Also if there are actually 300 000 Tamils living in Toronto and only 1000 showed up to this rally. Well what does that say about the Tamil community’s attitude about this conflict?

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    Thanks Google:
    “Approx. 150,000 live in Toronto’s 416 area code, and approx. 70,000 more live in Scarborough. The rest of the population are scattered in Markham, Etobicoke and downtown Toronto. Nevertheless, some Tamil groups in Canada say these figures are highly inflated. They say the most accurate count of Tamils in Canada is the 2001 census data on languages spoken in Canada. It identified 92,010 people speaking Tamil as their mother tongue.”
    http://www.diversitywatch.ryerson.ca/backgrounds/tamils.htm

  • http://undefined uskyscraper

    When I lived in London there was a small protest outside the Turkish embassy that had been continuously staged for years. They had a small little patch carved out for them over that time and were able to express their point without unduly impacting traffic, emergency services or the lives of others not involved in the protest. That’s the level of protest that is perfectly fine to allow within a discussion of rights and freedoms — occupying University Ave (Tamils), blocking the 401 (truckers), cutting VIA rail (First Nations) — those are the kind of acts that while of course attention-grabbing have too great of a negative impact on society as a whole and cannot be allowed or encouraged. Unfortunately they all have now happened, in some cases repeatedly, which sets a very bad precedent indeed.
    Catching up on all this from an outsider view (expat in New York), I see that the Toronto Police seem to have handled the situation well but they certainly could have acted earlier to clear some lanes for traffic. A right to protest does not mean a right to block a city artery. Close a lane or two, sure, maybe even the whole southbound side, but no group should be allowed to illegally block movement downtown for days. If this had been pulled in New York the cops would have reacted far more harshly than in Toronto — there is a very firm policy here of “no permit, no protest”. It’s not because the NYPD is secretly controlled by Rush Limbaugh or because of some US foreign policy – it’s because harming down New York’s economy would have a massive negative impact on too many people. Toronto should be no different.

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    >atomeyes. are you actually serious? the LTTE was created as a response to the systematic denial of Tamil rights. Tamils had been struggling for equal rights in Sri Lanka using non-violent tactics for decades, before the LTTE came on the scene.
    How can you support something you obviously know nothing about? You really, truely, blow me away with your blind allegience.
    >The LTTE was founded on May 5th, 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran as a successor to the Tamil New Tigers, a militant group notable for the assassination of the Mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiyappah in 1975.
    >Supported by the on-going politics of conflict in Sri Lanka, politicized Tamil youth in the North and the East started to form militant groups. These groups developed independently of the Colombo Tamil leadership, and in the end rejected and annihilated them. The most prominent of these groups was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or the LTTE. The LTTE initially carried out a campaign of violence against the state, particularly targeting policemen and also moderate Tamil politicians who attempted a dialogue with the government. Their first major operation was the assassination of the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah in 1975. In fact, the modus operandi of the early war was based on assassinations. The assassination in 1977 of a Tamil Member of Parliament, M. Canagaratnam, was carried out personally by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE.[35]
    So what were they created as a response too? The horrific acts of the TULF? Which non-violent acts have they been using? Assassinations? Slaughter?