(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – The Sri Lankan Government is to ban all groups who promote the LTTE ideology or separatism in Sri Lanka.
The Government recently banned a number of Tamil diaspora groups, including some influential organizations based in the UK.
Some of the groups were banned in 2014 but were de-listed by the Government in 2015.
Cabinet co-spokesman Udaya Gammanpila said that Sri Lanka is not prepared to engage with such groups or individuals.
Gammanpila said that Sri Lanka will closely engage with the expatriate community but will ban any group or individual who promotes the ideology of the LTTE.
“The LTTE is proscribed in Sri Lanka and separatism is banned under our Constitution,” he said.
The Minister said that anyone who propages the ideology in Sri Lanka or overseas and anyone who promotes separatism will be banned.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF), British Tamil Forum (BTF), Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), National Council of Canadian Tamil, Tamil Youth Organisation and the World Tamil Coordinating Committee have been proscribed by the Ministry of Defence.
The Government has also banned a number of individuals based in the UK, Germany, Italy, Malaysia and several other countries.
Among those banned are GTF spokesman Suren Surendiran, who had been engaged in talks with then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the Tamil National Alliance after the former Government lifted the ban on some of the diaspora groups.
The former Government had de-listed most groups considered as being moderate in their views, in an attempt to seek their support for the reconciliation process and development of the North.
