Narr: A man walks along the crowd lined up outside the UN building, shouting into a bullhorn.

(bring up chanting.)

Hundreds of protesters held signs reading “Save the Tamil People,” and “UN: Don’t Repeat Rwanda.” Today in Sri Lanka, it’s estimated that some 100,000 ethnic Tamil civilians are trapped in a 5 square mile sliver of land that the government is shelling.

Agitha SAT-I-A-NADAN held up a sign that read, “Help us, Susan Rice,” referring to the US ambassador to the UN.

Agitha: “I think she really needs to make sure that Ban Ki Moon and the UN push for a cease fire. Tamils are really asking for their legitimate rights. We have been on the island for 2,000 years. We really need to have our own space to govern, and for self determination.” (:16)

The Sri Lankan governement blames many of the civilian deaths on the Tamil Tigers. That’s the militant group that’s fighting for an independent state for the minority Tamils. UN Humanitarian Affairs secretary John Holmes blames the Tigers for preventing civilians from leaving.

Thrini Thamalingam, who held a Tamil Tiger sign, says it’s impossible to know what’s going on inside northern Sri Lanka. The government has prevented the media from entering. But she says the Tamil Tigers are not responsible for civilian deaths. To the contrary…

Thrini: “They are the reasons why Tamil people are still here.” (:03)

The UN and the US have called on the Sri Lankan governement to stop the shelling.

Eric Eagan, Columbia Radio news.