US court ruling crushes LTTE attempt

by Manjula Fernando

International Terrorism Expert Prof. Rohan Gunaratna said that last week’s ruling by the US Supreme Court, upholding the law which bans support to designated terrorist organisations including the LTTE, was a clear signal to the diaspora to stop serving the LTTE and its various fronts.

“The US judgement at this juncture is a major defeat for the LTTE at a time the outfit is seeking to consolidate itself overseas,” he told the Sunday Observer.

The US Supreme Court in a landmark decision on Tuesday rejected a constitutional challenge against a federal criminal law banning material support to terrorist organisations.

This law is one of the US Government’s frequently used tools in the battle against terrorism. The case was initiated by a group led by a non profit body called ‘Humanitarian Law project’.

The group had specifically wanted to help the LTTE and PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) of Turkey, two designated terrorist organisations in the US. The non-profit body argued that the Government must prove that a person intended to further a violent goal if he was to be convicted under the term of providing material support.

The US Chief Justice John Roberts said it was difficult to make such a distinction in a case and stressed that "such support frees up other resources within the organisation that may be put to violent ends," adding that it also helps lend legitimacy to foreign terrorist groups and makes it easier for those groups to persist, recruit members and raise funds - all of which facilitate more terrorist attacks. The Chief Justice was quoted in the media as stating that "The PKK and LTTE are deadly groups".

Prof. Gunaratna said through this appeal the LTTE and its front organisations TGTE and Global Tamil Forum were planning to legitimise diaspora support for another cycle of violence.

But the US Supreme Court ruling crushed the LTTE's shrewd attempt.