Tamil Tigers on banned list

The Tigers fear the ban will make Colombo more intransigent

The Tamil Tigers are among foreign organisations that the British Government intends to ban under new anti-terrorist legislation.

It is a sad day for Anglo-Tamil relations

Tamil Tigers' chief negotiator

British Home Secretary Jack Straw announced the list of organisations on Wednesday, saying he was satisfied that they were involved in terrorism.

The Tigers said the decision to include them on the list would impose severe restraints on the Norwegian-backed Sri Lankan peace process.

But the Sri Lankan Government welcomed the ban as a move that would promote peace efforts, and said it hoped Britain would take it to its "logical conclusion".

Jack Straw announced the list

The list also includes Al-Qaida, the organisation of the Afghan-based Saudi-born dissident, Osama bin Laden, and several Kashmiri and Sikh separatist groups.

The law gives police powers to seize assets and arrest those who use violence or the threat of it "for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause".

'Triumph for racism'

Even fund-raising or openly supporting a banned organisation could lead to arrest.

South Asian groups on the list

Al-Qaida

Babbar Khalsa (Sikh)

International Sikh Youth Federation

Harakat Mujahideen (Kashmir)

Jaish-e Mohammed (Kashmir)

Lashkar-e Taiba (Kashmir)

Tamil Tigers

The list is subject to parliamentary approval

The Tigers' chief negotiator Anton Balasingham, who is himself based in London, is likely to be affected by the ban.

A press release by the Tamil Tigers quoted him as saying: "It is a sad day for the Anglo-Tamil relations... The proscription will adversely affect the Tamil interests and severely undermine the current peace initiatives."

The BBC Colombo correspondent Frances Harrison says both the Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government had been lobbying ferociously in the run-up to the announcement.

The Sri Lankan government had warned that failure to include the Tigers on the list would damage relations with Britain.