UK urged to ban LTTE front organisations

Sri Lankan authorities have urged the British Government to ban fund-raising activities of what they described as "LTTE's front organisations" alleging that the money collected by these groups ostensibly for charitable purposes went into the coffers of the Tigers.

They said that although the LTTE was banned in Britain, a number of organisations claiming to be "charities" were working for it.

"These funds directly go to the coffers of the insurgent group to wage war with the Sri Lankan Government and spread violence among civilian populations," a spokesman of the Sri Lankan High Commission said.

The call came after the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO) organised a cultural show to raise funds for an educational project in Visvamadu in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan officials called the project an extension of the LTTE.

"We have complained to the British police that Visvamadu is in the Wanni territory where the power of the LTTE is wielded and these funds are meant for its campaign,"