Canada has done its best to end the long-running conflict in Sri Lanka, but will not bow to pressure to remove the Tamil Tigers from the list of banned terrorist groups, a Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said.

For more than a week, Tamil supporters have been gathering around Parliament Hill to protest the war in the South Asian country and ask Ottawa to intervene. On Friday, more than 1,000 people lined Wellington Street in front of the Parliament buildings waving flags. Five people are on a hunger strike.

"We have done everything that these protesters are asking Canada to do - namely call for a ceasefire - except we will not respond to a demand of anyone to legalize a banned, illegal terrorist organization," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told reporters in Calgary.

In 2006, Canada placed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on a list of banned terrorist organizations under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, which prohibits financing such groups.

Mr. Kenney said Canada has called for a ceasefire from both sides, asked the Sri Lankan government to ensure international support reaches people in need and increased Canada's humanitarian aid.

But the Tamil Tigers are responsible for suicide bombings, and the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, he said.

Canadian National