EU mulls banning Tigers

The EU for the first time also announced it was "actively considering" banning the rebels.

European diplomats here said that members, while mulling a full-fledged ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), had agreed to take several other steps to crack down on Tiger activity in their countries.

"We have not come to the stage of a full ban," one diplomat said. "But member states are sending a strong message to the LTTE that they have been put on notice. They could face a ban any time."

An EU statement released by the British high commission (embassy) in Colombo voiced concern about a "continuing use of violence and terrorism" by the Tigers.

"The European Union has agreed that with immediate effect, delegations from the LTTE will no longer be received in any of the EU member states until further notice," the statement said.

"The pursuit of political goals by such totally unacceptable methods only serves to damage the LTTE's standing and credibility as a negotiating partner and gravely endangers the peace process so much desired by the people of Sri Lanka."

The EU also said it is considering listing the Tigers as a terrorist group to curtail political activities such as fund-raising.

Several countries have already listed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation including the United States, Britain and India. Britain currently holds the presidency of the 25-member EU.

Sri Lankan government spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva said they were still studying the EU statement and would respond soon.

EU officials said member states had also agreed to take additional national measures to check and curb "illegal or undesirable activities" of the LTTE in their own countries.

The Tigers claim to maintain offices in 42 countries, including in several European capitals where Tamils live as political refugees after having fled ethnic violence at home.

Diplomats said the EU statement was provoked by the August 12 assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The murder further strained a shaky ceasefire brokered by Norway and in place since February 2002.

The government accused the Tigers of carrying out the killing but the rebels have denied involvement. The ethnic conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.

An LTTE delegation travelled to Europe in April and met senior officials and politicians from the Netherlands and Ireland.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE after the EU announcement, but the group's political chief S. P. Thamilselvan told AFP last week that any move to ban the Tigers would jeopardise the peace process.

"We don't believe that the European Union will be naive (enough) to marginalise the LTTE, and thereby the Tamil people, because when they are removed from the equation, the peace process will collapse," Thamilselvan said.