Sri Lanka welcomes Canada’s decision to retain LTTE as terrorist entity

The Government of Sri Lanka has welcomed the decision of the Government of Canada to retain the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) along with the World Tamil Movement (WTM) as terrorist entities.

Issuing a statement, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that according to the recent review, Canada maintains that the remnants of the LTTE have an international fundraising and procurement network that still exists. 

The review of the WTM notes that the group continues to play a facilitating role in the LTTE’s terrorist activities by fundraising on their behalf. This decision taken following a rigorous review process, reaffirms the continued threat posed by these organizations, it added.

The Government of Canada first listed the LTTE as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code on 6 April 2006 and it is a statutory requirement to undertake a review every five years. The latest review process concluded in June 2024. 

The continued listing of the LTTE by the Government of Canada is presently the third consecutive ban on the LTTE in recent times, with the extensions on proscription of the LTTE having also taken place in India and the European Union, in addition to the judgement of dismissal by the Proscribed Organisations and Appeal Commission (POAC) in the United Kingdom on the application made for the de-proscription of the LTTE in the UK, this year.