UK Govt urged to ban Tigers’ events

Heroes’ Day, an event glorifying Tiger terrorist tactics, is due to take place later this month at the London ExCeL Centre in defiance of UK laws prohibiting the glorification of and support for terrorism, press reports 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, November 27 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.

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).

The UK Government’s position towards the LTTE and its supporters lacks consistency, said the UK-based Centre for Social Cohesion, a think tank. Heroes’ Day 2007 was filmed by the Metropolitan Police, but it was not investigated further. Tharisanam TV, a pro-LTTE London-based satellite station was closed down in June 2008. Yet, Thendral TV, set up in July 2008, now broadcasts pro-LTTE material across the UK.

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, the Centre said in a press statement.

London