Sri Lanka's defeated terrorist group still a threat- India

The government of India says the defeated Tamil Tiger terrorist group of Sri Lanka, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is continued to be a threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.
The Director of the Internal Security of India's Union Home Ministry R. K Suman has told the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal in Chennai set up to evaluate the ban on the LTTE that the information the Central Government of India has indicate that the group continued to be a threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. "Though the LTTE has been decimated, there are reports to indicate that remnant LTTE cadres/leaders [are trying to] regroup and revive the organization in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in India," Suman has said in an affidavit filed before the one-man tribunal chaired by Justice V.K. Jain. The official has pointed out that attempts are being made to revive the terrorist outfit using Tamil Nadu as a platform and several pro-LTTE political parties and organizations are receiving assistance for that purpose. "The organization is capable of garnering local support in Tamil Nadu and several others parts in South India on account of linguistic, cultural and ethnic affinity. The LTTE continues to look at Tamil Nadu as a base for anti-India activities," Suman has said. The Home Ministry official has told the tribunal that there were reports that pro-LTTE groups are getting the assistance of Maoist organizations in the country to revive the banned organization. "The LTTE, even after its military defeat, has not abandoned its goal of achieving 'Tamil Eelam.' The remnants of the organization have been clandestinely working by reviving [activities] locally and internationally and continue to propagate its agenda through various means." Meanwhile, at the tribunal yesterday the pro-LTTE Tamil Nadu political leader, the general secretary of the MDMK, V. Goplasamy aka Vaiko also presented his case calling to remove LTTE from the banned list of terrorist organizations in India. The MDMK leader has told the tribunal that he wanted to know how many cases have been framed against the supporters of LTTE in the past 24 months and how many organizations have been branded as pro-LTTE organizations in Tamil Nadu. The court has said that there were many cases but has not specified a number. Vaiko is to place his arguments in the tribunal on Saturday for seeking revocation of the ban on LTTE. The Indian government declared the LTTE a banned organization in 1994 after an LTTE suicide bomber assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The central government of India extended the ban on LTTE in May 2012 for another two years saying that it is necessary to declare the group as an 'unlawful association' since it continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture and pose a grave threat to the security of its citizens. -->