LTTE asked to explain why it should not be declared unlawful

Unlawful Activities Tribunal issues notice to LTTE to explain why it should be declared unlawful, following government ban.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal has issued a notice to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to explain why it should be declared as unlawful.

The notice comes a month after the Union Government issued a notification banning the LTTE saying it was of the opinion that the organisation was still indulging in the activities which were prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.

On June 5, 2024, the Union Government constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal, under section 5 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, comprising Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, Judge, Delhi High Court, for adjudicating whether or not there was sufficient cause for declaring the LTTE as an unlawful association.

Accordingly, the Tribunal issued notice to the LTTE to show cause in writing on June 14, 2024, to explain in writing within 30 days why the organisation should not be declared as unlawful and why order should not be made confirming the declaration made by the Government of India. The LTTE was also given the option to appear before the Tribunal in New Delhi on July 23, 2024, through a duly authorised and instructed Counsel/Advocate.

The Government of Tamil Nadu also notified the ban on LTTE on May 18, 2024, in which it stated that the Central Government was of the opinion that even after its military defeat in May, 2009, in Sri Lanka, LTTE had not abandoned the concept of ‘Eelam’ and was clandestinely working towards the cause by undertaking fund raising and propaganda activities and the remnant LTTE leaders or cadres have also initiated efforts to regroup the scattered activists and resurrect the outfit locally and internationally.

“The pro-LTTE groups/elements continue to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for LTTE in India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, which will ultimately have a strong disintegrating influence over the territorial integrity of India,” the notification said adding that the LTTE sympathisers living abroad continued to spread anti-India propaganda among Tamils holding the Government of India responsible for the defeat of the LTTE, which, if not checked, was likely to develop a sense of hate among Tamil populace towards the Central Government and the Indian Constitution.