Tamil protests mount in Sri Lanka

Tamil protestors are becoming more outspoken

Thousands of Tamil students have demonstrated in Sri Lanka calling for peace, and urging the United Kingdom not to ban the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Students have also collected signatures for a petition opposing the ban and political prisoners have written a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sri Lanka's minority Tamils are becoming increasingly outspoken in support of the rebels, whose headquarters are in London.

But the group could find itself without a home if Britain imposes a ban under a new terrorism law which came into force on Monday

Campus protest

More than 4,000 university students and school children took part in the latest protest in the eastern town of Batticaloa.

A UK ban on the Tigers is now 'under active consideration'.

The students called on the international community to exert more pressure on Sri Lanka to enter peace talks with the Tigers, and urged Britain not to proscribe the group.

Protests took place at the teacher training college and the university campus where demonstrators burned an effigy of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

The minister is himself a Tamil but is regarded by rebel supporters as having betrayed his community.

The students also collected signatures for a petition asking Britain not to ban the Tigers.

In the eastern port town of Trincomalee, Tamil school children stayed at home to express solidarity with the Batticaloa protest.

And in the northern town of Jaffna, reports say, more than 1,000 university students and teachers lit candles as a gesture of support.

More than 500 Tamil political prisoners have also written to the Mr Blair in an attempt to persuade him against a ban.

Still no decision

A British Home Office spokesman said the ban was still "under active consideration" by Home Secretary Jack Straw.

Hardline Sinhalese hand in petition urging Britain to go through with the ban

But a decision on the Tigers had yet to be made, he added, without saying when it might be due.

The new Terrorism Act broadens the definition of terrorism, which previously focused largely on Irish paramilitaries.

The law gives police increased powers to seize assets and arrest those they believe may be promoting terrorism outside Britain.

But civil rights groups have expressed concern that the new legislation could be used against groups fighting for legitimate causes.

The new law is under close scrutiny by both sides of the political divide in Sri Lanka.

Majority Sinhalese groups are strongly urging the UK to go ahead with the ban.

Public expressions of minority Tamil opinion are a new development which began in January when university students in Jaffna organised a similar protest which they also called a Tamil Upsurge.

But analysts say the fact that almost all mainstream Tamil political parties also oppose a ban might indicate blanket support for the rebels in the absence of any other coherent Tamil leadership.