MIA urges Winfrey to help stop civilian killings in Sri Lanka

British-born Tamil singer M.I.A. wants US talk show host queen Oprah Winfrey to help her to highlight the attacks on civilians in Sri Lanka.

M.I.A, real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, was born in Britain to Sri Lankan parents. When she was a child, her father returned to the Asian country and joined the fight for a separate Tamil state there.

The battle between Tamil activists and the Sri Lankan government has descended into bloody violence and M.I.A. claims thousands of civilians are regularly killed in bombing raids.

She met Winfrey at a recent event to honour Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People and has now taken to her MySpace.com page to ask her new friend for help, reports contactmusic.com.

"She (Oprah) squeezed my hand so hard, I was convinced she cared. Michelle Obama gave a speech and there was mad secret service in the air so I didn't get to throw a paper plane at her saying 'stop the bombing of the Tamils in Sri Lanka', she posted.

"I wasn't sure about my influence but...if I do have any influence, I wish I could get the media to spotlight this...Oprah can you do something about these camps please?," she further wrote.

First Published: May 08, 2009 22:59 IST