On Thursday 27th November, 'A National Awakening Day' will be held at the ExCel centre in which over 25,000 people from the capital's Tamil community will gather to commemorate those who have lost their lives in Sri Lanka's ongoing conflict.

Critics of the event, including Sri Lanka's ambassador to Britain, say it commemorates suicide bombers, is in clear violation of British anti-terror legislation and is run by groups which raise funds for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) aka the Tamil Tigers.

They also say the annual event acts as a 'springboard' for indoctrinating young British Tamils against the Sri Lanka's ruling Sinhalese and this helps drives funding to the LTTE.

The fact that last year's event featured a video speech from the Tamil Tiger's leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in which he praised the group's suicide bombers, does little to detract from the view.

But Tamil groups argue that it is their right to mourn the thousands of Tamils killed in Sri Lanka and many regard Prabhakaran as a 'hero'. A classic example of one man's terrorist being another man's freedom fighter.
Nevertheless he is on Interpol's most wanted list.

The Metropolitan Police have given the event the green light, but will have officers at ExCel observing (with Tamil interpreters) to make sure no laws are broken.

This week I spoke to a friend who has worked in community cohesion for several years and closely with London's sizeable Tamil community and he said to me; "the Tamil people have faced severe oppression over the past 60 years and they should be able to mourn their loved ones."

" I see nothing wrong with this event," he insisted - and this view is obviously shared by the management of the ExCel, the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office.

There is no question that a gathering openly supporting al-Qaeda and featuring a speech from Osama Bin Laden would not be permitted in London and the Tamil Tigers are a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.
Can there be one rule for them and another for the rest?

Barack Obama's win sends a hugely powerful and timely message to young people in London.
Gun and knife crime is nothing new in this city, but over a 50 teenagers have been stabbed or shot in London over the last year.

Never before have we seen so many young lives lost in these circumstances over such a short period of time.
Thankfully thousands of Londoners work every day help give young people opportunities and steer them away from gangs, drugs and crime.

Over the past year I have met and interviewed many inspirational figures who have in one way or another taken it upon themselves to help halt the spiral of violence.

The organisations, which they have set up with limited funds and support from the government, make a tangible difference in communities where gangs are rife.

Whether they provide an outlet for young people through sports (Shoot a Ball Not A Gun ), music (Frosted Ice ) or empowerment and mentoring ( From Boyhood to Manhood ), they all deliver the same core message; that kids in socially and financially deprived areas need positive role models.

They need to look at the world and see people they can relate to in positions of power and aspire to achieve recognition and success in public life.

The election of a black man, whose father was a goatherd and who was raised by a single mother, to the most powerful political post in the world provides these groups with the ultimate role model and they will be celebrating Obama's win this week as passionately as any American.