The government of Sri Lanka has announced that the ban imposed on 6 Tamil organizations and 316 individuals in Sri Lanka has been lifted on the basis that they have stopped funding terrorism.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense issued a notification on Monday removing the ban on 6 organizations and individuals namely Australian Tamil Council, World Tamil Council, World Tamil Coordination Committee, Tamil Eelam People’s Federation, Canadian Tamil Congress and British Tamil Council. This notification was also published in the Gazette.
The Sri Lankan opposition parties raised questions about this and insisted that the government should explain the reason for lifting the ban.
Following that, the Ministry of Defense of Sri Lanka issued a statement on Tuesday explaining the lifting of the ban. It says:
United Nations Anti-Terrorist Financing 577 individuals and 18 organizations in Sri Lanka were blacklisted in 2021 under the council’s disciplinary procedures.
A committee set up on behalf of the Ministry of Defense to review the ban has undertaken a careful study. Further, consultations were held with the Ministry of External Affairs and Central Bank of Sri Lanka officials on whether the proscribed organizations were involved in terrorist activities or continued financing of terrorism. Based on those suggestions and the results of the investigation, the ban imposed on 6 Tamil organizations and 316 individuals who have stopped funding terrorism has been lifted.
In 2014, the government led by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa banned 16 Tamil organisations, including the LTTE. Maithripala Sirisena, who took over as the President of Sri Lanka in 2015, removed this ban. The Sirisena government lifted the ban as it began talks on rebuilding areas occupied by Tamils looted during the war against the LTTE. In this situation, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, which came to power in 2021, again imposed a ban on Tamil organizations. Refused to negotiate.
Currently, Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (DNA) has welcomed the lifting of the ban on 6 Tamil organisations.