UK rejects appeal to lift ban on LTTE

The UK Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission has rejected the appeal made by the Transitional Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) to lift the proscription on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation in Britain.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry stated that accordingly, the UK will continue to maintain the proscription on the LTTE.

Taking to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to announce this, the Foreign Minister said that the UK proscribed organisation appeals commission, an independent court set up by parliament and headed by a high court judge and two retired senior diplomats, ruled against de-proscribing the LTTE. 

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (“TGTE”) who support the creation of an independent Tamil state in north-east Sri Lanka appealed to the UK to lift its ban on the LTTE, he added.

Furthermore, Ali Sabry noted that the TGTE is not proscribed in the United Kingdom as it seeks to pursue their political and ideological objectives through non-violent means. 

“The LTTE international network’s approach and strategy is to get foreign governments to de-proscribe the LTTE so that they could revive the LTTE”, he added.