Centre extends ban on LTTE by two years

CURBING MECHANISMS: Centre says "turbulence" in Sri Lanka is being exploited by the pro-LTTE forces.

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New Delhi: Concerned over the turbulence in Sri Lanka causing disquiet in Tamil Nadu, the Centre on Thursday announced a two-year extension of the ban on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) even as the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and intelligence agencies stepped up vigil along the coastal area.

A notification extending the ban on the LTTE declaring it as an unlawful association was issued by the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday, an official release said.

It said the "turbulence" in Sri Lanka is being exploited by the pro-LTTE forces, in spite of the ban, causing disquiet and threat to the security of Tamil Nadu.

In view of hostilities between Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE, vigil has also been stepped up in the 21 islands in the Palk Straits.

The LTTE, also known as Tamil Tigers, is a terrorist group that has waged a violent campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s in order to create a separate Tamil

state in the northern and eastern part of the island nation.

The group-led by V Prabhakaran has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several countries including the United States.

The LTTE was involved in the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 and the group has been banned by India since 1992.

The notification said that the Centre was of the opinion that LTTE is an unlawful association and there is a continuing strong need to control all such separatist activities by all possible means.