Tamils in Malaysia carry posters of slain Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran during a demonstration outside the Batu Caves Temple near Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Nearly 5,000 ethnic Tamils gathered at one of the country's iconic Hindu temples to protest acts of 'genocide' against Tamils in Sri Lanka. Photo: AFP

Nearly 5,000 ethnic Tamil Malaysians gathered at one of the country's iconic Hindu temples Sunday to protest acts of 'genocide' against Tamils in Sri Lanka following the end of hostilities there.
The demonstration by one of the world's largest Tamil communities outside India and Sri Lanka, followed Colombo's declaration of victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last Monday, amid widespread concern that large numbers of Tamil civilians were killed in the fighting.
Protesters who gathered at the famous Batu Caves Hindu temple, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, say Sri Lanka is preventing full humanitarian assistance from getting through to nearly 300,000 displaced people.
Amid a sea of red LTTE flags emblazoned with a leaping tiger, men dressed in traditional white vejtis and women in sarees with flowers in their hair chanted slogans calling for Sri Lanka's president to be tried for crimes against humanity.
"We condemn the actions of the Sri Lankan government, who, in spite of international pressure, went on to virtually execute 25,000 Tamils in the last 100 days, which can be legally termed as genocide," event organiser S.P. Pathi said.
"The Tamils around the world demand justice," he said, refusing to recognise claims by the government of the death of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran earlier this week.
Federal Territories deputy minister M. Saravanan, who had attended along with opposition leaders, said Malaysia should not support a Sri Lankan-sponsored UN bill on non-interference in the battle-scarred country's affairs.
"The Malaysian government should not support any UN resolutions like this one that is being tabled against the Tamils in Sri Lanka," he told AFP.
"The Sri Lankan government should not be looking at short term solutions for itself but for a long term solution that also benefits the Tamils," he added.
The gathering passed several resolutions including calls for an investigation into alleged atrocities committed against Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and on filing war crimes charges against government leaders.
Ethnic Indians -- many of whom are descendants of labourers brought over by British colonial rulers in the 1800s -- make up less than eight percent of the 27 million population of this mainly Muslim-Malay country.