India renews ban on LTTE, 15 years after Mullivaikkal genocide

^{The LTTE pictured in the 1980's.}

The Indian government has extended its ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for another five years, claiming the organisation is still active and “threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of India.

The move came almost 15 years since the 2009 genocide at Mullivaikkal which saw the defeat of the LTTE and the murder of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

The Union Home Ministry in India re-imposed the ban earlier this month invoking the sub-sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In their notification, it said the central government believes that the “LTTE is still indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.”

“The pro-LTTE groups/elements continue to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for LTTE in India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, which will ultimately have a strong disintegrating influence over the territorial integrity of India,” the notification said.

According to the Home Ministry, the objective of a Tamil Eelam “amounts to the cession and secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union”. 

See the full notice below.

The extension of the ban comes after the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) pledged to work on lifting the ban and push for a referendum on establishing Tamil Eelam. The party stated so in a manifesto released before the commencement of the Indian elections, which are currently ongoing. 

It was reported that the party general secretary Vaiko said the MDMK would urge the Union government to conduct a referendum among Tamils in the homeland and the global Tamil diaspora on establishing an Eelam.

Read more on that here.