News
EU court upholds LTTE ban
By Sujeeva Nivunhella
reporting from London
The LTTE has lost its legal battle in the European Court against the proscription imposed against the group by the European Union.
Judgment of the case LTTE v EU Council (T-160/19) was delivered by a panel of judges comprising S. Gervasoni, President, L. Madise and P. Nihoul (Rapporteur) last week.
The European Political Subdivision of the LTTE was represented by A. van Eik and T. Buruma, while the Council of the European Union (EU) was represented by B. Driessen and S. van Overmeire.
The UK government, which proscribed the LTTE on March 29, 2001, also supported the European Union’s stance of maintaining the LTTE’s proscription. Representing the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland were solicitors F. Shibli, S. McCrory and P. Nevill.
During the hearing, it was mentioned that the British Home Secretary took into account the attacks by the LTTE in January 2000 which had taken place in Colombo, Morawewa and Vavuniya (Sri Lanka) and had resulted in fatalities and injuries, including civilian fatalities and injuries, before the proscription.
The decision to maintain the proscription in June 2014 by the Home Secretary was on the basis that the group existed and retained a military capability and network coupled with the intent to conduct terrorist attacks in the future if it is perceived to be in the organization’s interest to do so.
Despite the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009, their international fundraising and revival capacities remained, the Home Secretary observed. This was notably evidenced by a number of incidents that had revealed international connections to LTTE-related individuals.
The Home Secretary came to his decision after consulting with the entire government, intelligence services and police authorities which was later subject to a review and approval by the two chambers of the UK Parliament.
Among the terrorist acts discussed in the case were ‘the dismantling in Malaysia in May 2014 of [an] LTTE-related cell that led to the seizure of propaganda materials and an amount of foreign currency. Considering the material in question, Malaysian law enforcement authorities have investigated and confirmed the attempt to revive the LTTE activities’.
‘The dismantling in Sri Lanka in 2014 of a cell led by Kajeepan Selvanayagam (alias Gobi, a former member of [the LTTE] intelligence wing) with the recovery of stashed arms. Police officers were shot at during the operation and one of them injured. Gobi was later killed during a subsequent confrontation with the army. Twenty six suspects were arrested and so far four have been convicted’.
‘The foiled conspiracy in January 2017 to assassinate M.A. Sumanthiran, Member of the Parliament. Explosives and other peripherals were recovered from some of the suspects who are so far indicted before the High Court of Colombo. The linkage with [the LTTE] can be established by the fact that the same suspects are also prosecuted for disseminating propaganda material in support of the LTTE’.
The judges ordered the European Political Subdivision of the LTTE to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Council of the European Union and ordered the UK government to bear their costs.
More than 108,000 complaints of child abuse had been received by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) between 2015 and 2025, Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj told Parliament yesterday.
Responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa under Standing Order 27/2, the Minister said 4,421 child abuse cases were pending before High Courts as of April 30 this year, with indictments already filed against the accused.
She said the NCPA was working with 47 Police Child and Women Protection Bureaus under the Police Children and Women Abuse Prevention Division to expedite the hearing and conclusion of these cases.
The Minister said measures were also being taken to protect child victims during legal proceedings by introducing a system to record their evidence through video in a safe and child-friendly environment, thereby reducing the need for them to appear in court.
She said discussions were underway with the Ministries of Health and Mass Media and other relevant institutions to establish nine provincial video evidence recording units.
by Saman Indrajith ✍️
The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed a writ petition seeking to postpone the 2026 G.C.E. A/L Examination by two months.
The petition, filed by a group of students due to sit the examination for the first and second time, sought an order delaying the examination, which is scheduled to commence next month.
The Court announced its decision after considering submissions made in support of the application and declined to grant leave to proceed with the petition.
As a result, the 2026 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination will be held as scheduled in August.
Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Rathnayake yesterday criticised the conduct of MP Archchuna Ramanathan in Parliament, describing the behaviour of certain lawmakers as “uncivilised, disgraceful and indecent”, while a heated exchange followed between government and opposition members.
Rathnayake made the remarks when Ramanathan attempted to raise a point of order during parliamentary proceedings.
“This parliament has one or two members who behave in a very uncivilised, disgraceful manner. We tolerate them because one of them is mentally ill,” Rathnayake said.
He alleged that Ramanathan had insulted even members of the Tamil community.
“The things he says may not be heard through the microphone, but the four walls of this Parliament are witnesses,” Rathnayake said, adding that Ramanathan’s conduct was not limited to Parliament.
He claimed that the Jaffna District Coordinating Committee meeting could not be held due to Ramanathan’s behaviour and said MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam had written to the Speaker stating that he could not sit near him.
The Speaker intervened during the exchange, warning Ramanathan not to behave in a manner that would turn Parliament into “a joke”. He also said the MP had previously addressed him in an insulting manner.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa criticised the manner in which Rathnayake and the Speaker had addressed the matter, saying MPs should not be spoken to improperly and urging members to follow parliamentary Standing Orders.
Ramanathan, responding to the remarks, said: “I may be a psycho, but I am not a homosexual.”
by Saman Indrajith ✍️
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