Home Ministry extends ban on LTTE by 5 years
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday issued a notification extending the ban imposed on the LTTE for five more years accusing the outfit of fostering a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhancing the support base for it in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, besides threatening the territorial integrity of the country.
In the notification, a copy of which is with The New Indian Express, the MHA said it has imposed the ban invoking the sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.
In the notification, the MHA noted that the LTTE is an association based in Sri Lanka but has supporters, sympathisers and agents within the territory of India and the central government is of the opinion that the outfit “is still indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country”.
The MHA said that even after its military defeat in May 2009 in Sri Lanka following the killing of its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, “the LTTE has not abandoned the concept of ‘Eelam’ (an independent country for Tamils) and has been clandestinely working towards the ‘Eelam’ cause by undertaking fund raising and propaganda activities”. The remnant LTTE leaders or cadres have also initiated efforts to regroup the scattered activists and resurrect the outfit locally and internationally, it added.
“The pro-LTTE groups/elements continue to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for it in India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, which will ultimately have a strong disintegrating influence over the territorial integrity of India,” the notification read.