LTTE remains a threat to India: Sen tribunal

PTI
NEW DELHI, November 12, 2010
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A special tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge on Friday upheld the Centre’s decision to extend the ban on terrorist outfit LTTE for two more years, stating that the organisation remains a threat to the security of the country.

“Indian soil is being used for unlawful activities propelled by the remnant cadres of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). There is sufficient material to declare the LTTE as unlawful association as contemplated under the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act.

“Therefore, the declaration made by the Central government notification dated May 14 is confirmed,” Justice Vikramajit Sen said.

The tribunal said that there was sufficient evidence that pro-LTTE elements and remnant LTTE cadres, with the help of locals smugglers, were actively participating in unlawful activities in the country.

“The LTTE remains a threat to India’s security, integrity and sovereignty,” Justice Sen said, adding that “the Central government has succeeded in establishing that supporters of the LTTE in India has been spreading anti-India feeling among the Tamils through public speeches and internet portals.”

The LTTE was first banned in India in 1992 following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Centre has been extending the ban since then every two years.

In his order, Justice Sen said, “Illegal immigration of LTTE cadres through coastal areas, smuggling of narcotics to raise funds and supply of fuel and explosives from the Indian soil are all evidence of the active presence of LTTE in India.”

The government had on May 14 extended the ban on LTTE by another two years following intelligence reports that remnants of the Sri Lankan Tamil terror outfit were trying to re-group in Tamil Nadu.

According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, even though LTTE had been “decimated in Sri Lanka, recent reports reveal that remnant LTTE cadres and leaders are regrouping in Tamil Nadu".

The outfit, which was espousing the cause of a separate Tamil Eelam, was vanquished by the Sri Lankan military in May last year.

The notification said the possibility of its remnant cadres using India and especially Tamil Nadu as a rear base for their re-grouping activities cannot be ruled out.