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Britain will be enacting legislation to proscribe terrorist organisations that commit offences outside its jurisdiction with the Queen reportedly giving her Royal Assent to the UK Terrorism Act 2000 this week, government sources said. "We hope the law contains the banning of LTTE in that country". The new laws could be a major blow to the LTTE which has for years used London as its overseas headquarters from where it has run a successful propaganda campaign for a separate state in North and East of Sri Lanka. The British Government had been continuously criticised for harbouring LTTE activists in that country, and permitting its soil to be used to bring death and destruction to a fellow Commonwealth country. So far it is India and Malaysia that have banned the LTTE while the US has declared it as a terrorist organisation. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was in London this week to urge the British Foreign Office to consider banning the LTTE under the new law. He followed India's Home Minister L.K. Advani who was there a fortnight ago to urge the banning of terrorist organisations active in Kashmir. Mr. Kadiragamar said that Britain had adopted a comprehensive law on terrorism which closely follows the two recent UN conventions on terrorism, in the drafting of which Sri Lanka played a leading role. "Sri Lanka has been urging Britain for many years to adopt a law on terrorism and therefore we are pleased that this law has been enacted," he said. "There can be no doubt whatsoever that the LTTE qualifies for proscription under this law. It is now a question of the political will on the part of the British Government to do so," he added. The far-reaching provisions of this new law define "terrorism" as the use or threat of action involving serious violence against a person or involves serious damage to property. The significant aspect of the UK Terrorism Act 2000, however, is that a terrorist act includes action outside the United Kingdom; a reference to any person or to property is a reference to any person or property, wherever situated; a reference to the public includes a reference to the public of a country other than the UK and "the Government" means the Government of the UK, or a part of the UK or of a country other than the UK. A terrorist organisation is classified as one if it (a) commits or participates in acts of terrorism, (b) prepares for terrorism, (c) promotes or encourages terrorism, or (d) is otherwise concerned in terrorism. A person is deemed to commit an offence if he belongs or professes to belong to a proscribed organisation, invites support for the proscribed organisation, if he arranges, manages or asserts in arranging or managing a meeting which supports or further the activities of such an organisation. The new law lays down the procedure for such a proscribed organisation to appeal against an order, but a person guilty of an offence under this law can be jailed for upto ten years or fined, or both. The wearing of an item of clothing in public or campaigning or displaying even an article of such a banned organisation — or even arousing "a reasonable suspicion" that he is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation is an offence which would carry a lesser punishment, however. Measures against fund-raising, whether voluntary or by compulsion, one of the major sources of revenue for the LTTE from nearly a million people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin overseas, have been included in the UK Terrorism Act. A person commits an offence if he a) invites another to provide money, or other property or receives money and b) intends that it be used, or has reasonable cause to suspect that it may be used, for the purpose of terrorism. Funding arrangements and money laundering such as by transfer to nominees etc. and the export of cash are also offences which have jail sentences running upto 15 years, apart from the seizure or forfeiture of such monies or properties. Inciting other persons to commit an act of terrorism outside the UK, including murder, an offence under the UK Offences against the Person Act 1861 (wounding with intent; poison; explosions) are deemed offences committed in the UK.
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