Word that someone in Ottawa was listening was enough to spark the exodus of thousands of protesters from the Gardiner Expressway early this morning.

By midnight people began heading down the Spadina ramp and returning to the south lawn of Queen's Park, where the rally began earlier Sunday before protesters stormed the Gardiner.

"I'll be here all night," said Santhira Kumar, 40, as he walked onto the grass shortly before 1 a.m., with a Tamil Tiger flag hoisted over his shoulder.

Many of the Tamils who earlier clogged the Gardiner seemed to have gone home but between 200 and 300 remained at Queen's Park. However, Parithra Sritharan, 17, said many, such as her father, merely went home for warmer clothing as the protest lengthened from a sunny afternoon to a windy night.

"We are planning on staying all night," she said from within a winter hat strapped under her chin. "People who came early, they came with shorts."

As she stood with her older brother Mayuram, 20, she added some people might have gone home for the night, but "they're going to come back in the morning for sure."

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the protesters decided to leave the expressway following input from leaders of the protest and assurances political leaders would deal with their concerns.

"We received some help from some community members and some of our political leaders to bring an end to this," Blair said outside 52 Division early this morning.

He did not want to be specific but there was earlier word that someone from opposition leader Michael Ignatieff's office had responded, claiming a statement would be made Monday.

"The protests are going to continue and we're anticipating having to deal with this in the days and weeks to come," Blair said.

He described the protest on the expressway as being in a "very dangerous location," which made it "difficult to manage a crowd."

"It was the first we ever had a protest go in that direction (onto the Gardiner Expressway)," Blair said. "I was very concerned if we started to move that crowd down the ramp and if there was any kind of a stampede and people began to fall we could have had a tragedy there and even loss of life."

Blair said "it was a big mistake (for the demonstrators) to go up there," adding he was "pleased they heard our message."

The Gardiner Expressway has reopened in both directions.

Many Tamils were aware they were trying the patience of both police and Toronto's drivers. Some cared and some did not.

Rita and Raj Thiruchelvan, both 46, were also planning on spending the night and said so shortly before the subway closed at 1:30 a.m. They have lost touch with their cousin, who is a Catholic nun in Sri Lanka.

"We want the attention from the government and from the people, too," Rita said. "It's not easy to stay in the roads."

Baskar Pathmanathan, 32, understood Toronto's possible annoyance, but did not see what else the Tamil community could do. He said his wife's uncle died from government shelling.

"Everything that's happened here today, the Gardiner, is out of sheer desperation," he said. "We can't go home and sleep."

Up until 2 a.m. Tamils continued to walk into Queen's Park and the police presence was still strong.

The Gardiner Expressway came to a standstill for almost five hours when 2,000 Tamil protesters stormed onto the highway and ramps, blocking all lanes Sunday night.

Chief Blair said the protest was unlawful. "What they are doing right now is clearly unlawful and unsafe," he said, while the protest was still ongoing.

He added there were women and children at the front of the protesting group and that the highway guardrails aren't very high.

During the protest on the Gardiner, he said more police officers were being brought in and day shift officers remained on duty to address the situation. They were trying to peacefully remove the protesters through negotiation.

Tempers frayed as the protest dragged late into the night. Two men and a woman were arrested and charged with assaulting a peace officer and mischief interfering with property.

Protest spokesperson Siva Vimal said leaders decided to end their protest after speaking with the office of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and receiving assurances he would take up their cause at caucus.

"Why we have come to this point is that for months now the community has been protesting peacefully, and there has been a serious inaction on the Canadian government's part," Vimal said earlier.

"They have not done everything that they can to pressure the government of Sri Lanka to accept international calls for a ceasefire."

Shyanthy Thezarajh, 24, another spokesperson for the Tamil protesters, said she is hoping for diplomatic sanctions against Sri Lanka and a stronger statement at the UN.

"There's been a massive impact on each and every individual here. And they're pretty much trying to get the media to understand what's going on in the hopes that the issue would come to the world stage and some kind of meaningful solution will be achieved for Sri Lanka right now," she said during the protest.

"Hopefully, once people start realizing what exactly happened to trigger all these emotions, I'm hoping as a community (Canadians) will all stand together," she added.

Hundreds of people, young and old, sat cross-legged with babies in strollers on the highway around her.

Meanwhile, another few thousand protesters gathered on University and College and in front of the American consulate.

The dramatic moves, following several protests in recent weeks in both Ottawa and Toronto, came after news that an all-night artillery barrage in Sri Lanka's war zone killed more than 370 people and forced thousands to flee to makeshift shelters along the beach.

Police were caught off guard as the demonstration swelled.

Later in the evening as some protesters walked down off the Gardiner additional ones arrived.

Meanwhile, 52 Division station became a command post surrounded on all sides by double-parked police cruisers from across the city. Police officers were bused to the Gardiner.

Police had been monitoring several groups of demonstrators who had joined up on Spadina Ave. as they headed south at about 6:30 p.m.

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The closure of the Gardiner caused traffic gridlock on all downtown streets.

Once the marchers hit the Lakeshore hundreds of people began running up the ramp to the westbound Gardiner. Marchers held flags, banners and placards demanding a stop to the violence in their homeland.

Police closed ramps to the expressway from Jarvis to Spadina Ave. Traffic backed up in both directions from the Don Valley Parkway to the east and as far as the Humber River in the west end. A group of demonstrators had crossed over the centre concrete median spreading themselves out across all lanes.

Mounted officers were brought to the scene as police surrounded the group and patrol officers from divisions across the city were also brought in.

"A wake-up call this morning was that we lost 4,000 people," said protester Arthty Ragupathy, 15, noting the casualty number many at the protest are using although official reports say about 400 civilians were killed. However, media are not allowed into the war zone so it is difficult to substantiate the exact number.

"My grandmother overnight was actually killed," Ragupathy said, grabbing a friend's hand for support.

While many Tamil Canadians awoke to the news this morning, Ragupathy sat up through the night with her family, listening to the names of the dead listed on a Tamil radio station. Her grandmother, who is nearly 80, had left Jaffna and relocated to the no-fire zone, where she was supposed to be safe.

Her name was announced around 1 or 2 a.m. Sunday.

"They're trying to get rid of the whole Tamil race," she said, her big brown eyes moist.

People turned off their car engines and stood in the roadway, some taking pictures with cameras or cellphones.

"I was on my way to visit friends and go see a movie," said Matthew Sacks. "It's unfortunate it has to come to this but I guess it's not the end of the world."

Stephany Anton Arogana, 16, a protester, said, "It's hard for us students to focus at school. Our teachers are teaching us something and our minds are somewhere else."

She said they have protested every way possible and the Canadian government has not effectively intervened.

"We did not get our voices heard. We hope this helps. We're getting to a point where our people are decreasing in numbers."

A motorist was disappointed by the disruption.

"This is not good. I'm on my way to see my mother for Mother's Day and I guess I'm going to be late," said Erin Edwards. Edwards and many motorists left their cars and walked toward the crowd and watched the spectacle unfold behind police lines. "I get the point of their problems but I don't get this," Edwards added.

At about 7:30 p.m. police began getting motorists to back up their cars and down the closest ramp.

Anita, a spokesperson for the Tamil protesters who was on the scene, said the protest was peaceful. "We're all just on the floor sitting down. We're here trying to stop the genocide."

Protesters also blocked off a downtown intersection near the Ontario legislature.

Police from the surrounding regions sent in officers to help the Toronto force.

Tamil Canadians and their supporters have been holding protests for several months to demonstrate against violence in Sri Lanka.

They began Sunday by holding a moving protest on University Avenue across from the U.S. consulate and then moved south to take over the highway.

With files from The Canadian Press

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