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The British parliament on Wednesday approved the list of proscribed organisations listed by Home Secretary Jack Straw, under the provisions of the British Terrorism Act 2000, confirming Britain’s decision to ban the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organisation. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, Mr. Jack Straw addressing the commons said, "I beg to move, that the draft Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2001, which was laid before this House on 28th February, be approved." He stated that the Terrorism Act 2000 brings British provisions into line with the European convention on human rights and ensures that Britain is better able to deal with the serious threat that terrorism poses. "At the same time, when the 2000 Act came into force, we were able to ratify the remaining two of the 12 extant United Nations Conventions relating to terrorism--the convention for the suppression of terrorist bombings and the convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism. Our obligations, therefore, are in respect of human rights and the liberty of the subject--even where those subjects have been involved in terrorism--which is entirely proper. They are also in respect of significant United Nations Conventions obliging all signatories to take better steps against terrorism," he continued. When questioned about his basis for this decision, Straw said:" In considering which such organisations should be so proscribed, I took into account a number of factors, including those indicated to Parliament by Ministers during proceedings on the Terrorism Bill, which included: the nature and scale of the organisation's activities; the specific threat that it poses to the United Kingdom; the specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas; the extent of the organisation's presence in the UK; and the need to support other members of the international community in the global fight against terrorism." He explained the setting up of The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, a new independent judicial tribunal to consider appeals. During the appeals process information relating to the foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) provided by Britain’s intelligence services would be withheld from the applicant organisations. However the special advocate would challenge such evidence rigorously before the SIAC (Security and Intelligence Committee). Miss Ann Widdecombe MP (Maidstone and The Weald), shadow Home Secretary, speaking on behalf of the Conservative opposition stated that the Conservatives did not intend to oppose the order. "We fully support the Government's measures to deal with the destabilising menace of international terrorism. The increasing globalisation of recent years has made it much easier for international terrorist groups to move their operations from country to country.” The revolution in communications technology and the internationalisation of financial markets have also made it much easier for such organisations to operate across the globe. We agree with the Rt. Hon. Gentleman that the United Kingdom should not offer sanctuary to those who use unacceptable violence to achieve their ends. We also agree that the measures are necessary and timely. We support his actions." The LTTE who have silenced all alternative political opinion by selective assassinations, and presented itself fraudulently as the "sole representatives of the Tamil speaking people" in Sri Lanka, was only able to muster two British MPs to speak on its behalf.
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