The Government yesterday welcomed the continued proscription of LTTE in the United Kingdom.
The Foreign Ministry said the Government of Sri Lanka had been made aware that the UK Home Secretary had decided to maintain the proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation under the UK Terrorism Act No. 7 of 2000.
The Home Secretary’s decision, which had been taken following the judgment of the Proscribed Organizations Appeals Commission (POAC), rejected the application of an LTTE front organisation to de-proscribe the LTTE in the UK.
The LTTE, therefore, remains a proscribed organisation in the UK, as in over 30 other countries worldwide, including in the EU region.
The LTTE was initially proscribed in these countries due to the group’s brutality and atrocities targeting civilians and democratically elected leaders, involvement in organised crime and other criminal activities that impacted global and regional security.
The continued retention of the LTTE’s proscription worldwide is a recognition of the continued threat posed by the remnants of the group working through its international network, which continue to finance terrorist activities, radicalise youth towards violent extremism and cause ethnic disharmony and disrupt cohesive living in every country in which they are active.
“Sri Lanka is appreciative of the partnership with the UK, and all governments, in the global fight against terrorism, and remain committed to working with the UK in all efforts to mitigate terrorism and violent extremism, that threaten the lives of citizens, and endanger global and regional peace and security,” the Foreign Ministry said.
(FT)