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DESPITE ITS TOTTERING STATUS
IN SRI LANKA TAMIL TIGERS WILL OPENLY DEFY UK TERRORISM LAWS ON HEROES
DAY
By Walter Jayawardhana
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) , a tottering terrorist group
nearing its military collapse in Sri Lanka will defy UK anti-terrorism
laws to glorify its suicide terrorism publicly when it holds its Heroes
Day at the London Excel Centre , according to pro-LTTE media reports.
Despite the proscription of the group in the United Kingdom , the Tamil
language radio station, International Broadcasting Corporation (IBC)
said in its broadcasts that the event would take place at the London
ExCeL Centre , November 27 from 10am .
London’s PR newswire said, “The Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers,are a proscribed terrorist organisation
in the UK under the 2000 Terrorism Act. Membership of the LTTE, fundraising
for the group and encouraging support for them are all prohibited in
the UK. For the LTTE and its supporters, the 27th November is Heroes'
Day. Past suicide missions are openly venerated and Velupillai Prabhakaran,
the military and political leader of the LTTE, addresses crowds in many
countries via video link-up to raise money and international support
for the group.”
The PR newswire added, “Holding a public Heroes' Day event in the
UK is illegal under both the Terrorism Act 2000 (for supporting a proscribed
organisation) and the 2006 Act (for glorification of terrorism).”
Expecting fundraising also aligned to the event the newswire said,
“40 percent of LTTE funding comes from UK sources. Despite this,
the government's position towards the LTTE and its supporters lacks
consistency. The ExCeL Centre drew 3,000 supporters in 2007, and 8,000
the year before when LTTE supporters from around Europe gathered at
a leisure centre in Harrow.
Heroes' Day 2007 was filmed by the Metropolitan Police, but it was
not investigated further. Tharisanam TV, a pro-LTTE London-based satellite
TV station, was closed down in June 2008. Yet, Thendral TV, set up in
July 2008, now broadcasts pro-LTTE material across the UK.”
The Center for Social Cohesion in London said, “Prabhakaran's 2007
Heroes' Day speech praised the "immeasurable dedication and sacrifice"
of the Black Tigers, the group's suicide contingent. In the same speech,
he criticised the international community for proscribing Tamil Diaspora
support for the LTTE. An open video message this year from Prabhakaran
- currently wanted for terrorism offences by Interpol - would raise
serious questions over the government's ability to enforce UK terrorism
laws.
“The Centre for Social Cohesion believes it is deeply worrying
that fundraisers for a proscribed terrorist organisation can operate
in the UK with impunity. Whether it's the Tamil Tigers or the extreme
Islamist group Al Ghurabaa, the government needs to show consistency
in its enforcement of the Terrorism Acts.”
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