NEW DELHI: A comprehensive note has been prepared by a committee of secretaries constituted by the cabinet secretary recently on the pros and cons of banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) the dominant Tamil militant organization of Sri Lanka.

The committee’s draft note for the consideration of the cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) deals with among other things the short-term advantages and long-term disadvantages of banning the LTTE the issue of affording protection to the Sri Lankan Tamils and the likely impact of such a move on the LTTE which is not an Indian organization.

The political fallout of such a decision is inevitable particularly with the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu trying to exert pressure on the Center on this issue. The state chief minister has written several letters to the Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao impressing upon him the imperative need to ban the LTTE.

The Center on its part does not want to act in haste without an in depth assessment of the negative and positive aspects of such a move. At the same time it is aware of the need for early action against the LTTE because of the serious law and order problem in Tamil Nadu posed by the activists and supporters of the organization. The Narasimha Rao government was also seized of the threat to the security environment because of the activities of the LTTE in the southern region.

Highly placed sources say the issue of banning the LTTE is not all that simple. The intelligence bureau (IB) had prepared a detailed note initially just before its director M.K Narayanan retired explaining why the LTTE should be banned. The JD and the home ministry have enough information on how the militant outfit has been using this country as a staging ground in its struggle for an Eelam or independent state in the Jaffna peninsula. It may be recalled the Prime Minister was specifically asked by presspersons about the banning of the LTTE during the brief stopover in Madras on Tuesday on his way to Tirupati for the AICC session. Rao had observed the proposal was in an advanced stage of consideration.

When Parliament resumes its budget session on April 21 after a brief recess the government is expected to make a statement on the subject.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 1, 1992