NEW DELHI: After months of discussion, the 25-nation European Union has set the stage for a formal ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a senior European diplomat familiar with the case told The Hindu here on Thursday.

``The ground has been prepared for a ban on the Tigers.'' A formal decision to recommend the proscription was taken at two separate meetings of legal experts and counter-terrorism specialists in Brussels on Wednesday. According to the diplomat, the E.U. processes would now take hold leading to a formal announcement of the ban. Some key members previously objected to a ban, arguing that a high level of proof was needed and no engagement was possible with a banned organisation.

Acts of violence

Clearly, the recent acts of violence have convinced those who had doubts about the real face of the LTTE, a group that remains determined to try and achieve its objectives through violence. A ban by as many as 25 European states will come as a body blow to the LTTE's fund-raising and political activities conducted by its myriad front organisations. It will also end decades of legal toleration of the Tigers by European nations. On May 12, the E.U. said in a statement: ``The LTTE have committed gross violations of the Ceasefire Agreement at sea in recent days ... the reckless behaviour of the LTTE in the last days can only contribute to a dangerous escalation that results in growing hostilities and jeopardises any possibility for future peace talks.''

In September 2005, the E.U. said it was ``actively considering the formal listing of the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. In the meantime, the European Union has agreed that with immediate effect, delegations from the LTTE will no longer be received in any of the E.U. member-states until further notice.''

The LTTE, it appears, has an inkling of what transpired within the E.U. in Brussels on Wednesday. In a statement, its tactician Anton Balasingham lashed out at any move to impose a ban. ``The more the international community alienates the LTTE, the more the LTTE will be compelled to tread a hardline individualist path,'' Mr. Balasingham told the pro-Tiger Tamilnet website. ``As such [a E.U ban] is not going to help bring about peace, [but] will only serve to exacerbate the conditions of war and endanger the lives of Tamil civilians ... " he said, warning that the LTTE could step up its attacks on the Sri Lankan security forces if the E.U. clamped a ban.

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