SRI Lankans living in Oxfordshire joined a protest at Westminster last night against the civil war in their homeland.

Tamil supporters from the county believed Sunday’s announcement of a ceasefire in the 26-year civil war was propaganda from the Sri Lankan government.

Rathan Sivanerajah, from Marston, said: “It is not a civil war, it is a genocide.

“It’s a ceasefire after thousands of people have been killed, misplaced and raped.”

The 38-year-old said he did not know if family members in the north-east region of the country were still alive.

“The whole village is wiped out,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get a full picture.”

Mr Sivanerjah called on international governments to intervene.

He said: “They need to do more to bring peace. There will be more genocide, more killing. The worst part is going to be now.

“The future is uncertain unless the international community have something to say. The human rights violations will not stop until then.”

The Tamil Tigers have fought against Sri Lankan governments for decades in a bid to establish a seperate state for Tamils in the north-east of the country.

The fighting has escalated since the New Year, and more than 70,000 people are thought to have been killed and thousands displaced.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the Sri Lankan government to help civilians caught up in the conflict, adding: “Sri Lanka must understand that there will be consequences for its actions.”

Murali Gunarajah, from Didcot, joined the London demonstration yesterday. The 40-year-old said: “This has not ended, whatever they are saying.

“For a lot of Sri Lankans living in Oxford, international governments are not doing anything and the people are suffering.”