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A large number of Sri Lankans in the Washington DC demonstrated in front of the British Embassy last Friday, urging the British Government to proscribe the LTTE under its recently enacted Terrorism Act. The peaceful protest was held under extremely cold weather conditions and was organized by Friends of Sri Lanka in the US (FOSUS), and activist group that lobbies US government and Congress to protect Sri Lankan interests. A two-member delegation of the FOSUS handed over a letter addressed to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair Counsellor, to Counsellor of the British Embassy in Washington. The letter urged Britain to treat the LTTE in the same way they have treated their own terrorist groups such as the IRA that were banned many years ago. The letter described the LTTE as one of the most ruthless and violent terrorist organizations in the world today, which is condemned worldwide for using child soldiers. Its international headquarters in London is a clearing house for funds that are used to buy weapons of destruction. "India banned it following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by a LTTE suicide bomber. Malaysia banned it recognising it as a terrorist organization. The United States banned the LTTE in 1997. However, it still enjoys legitimacy in Britain, which in fact, is the international headquarters of LTTE operations", the letter said. "Do not allow the LTTE to use Britain as a safe haven to commit acts of terrorism. We urge the British government to do what is right and immediately proscribe the LTTE from Britain, as an organization concerned in terrorism as clearly stated in the UK Terrorism Act of 2000". A similar four-hour protest was staged by more than a hundred Sri Lankans in New York on 09th Friday, outside the British Embassy, calling on the British government to ban the LTTE.
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