The UNP will also seek the support of other political parties to push forward the proposals. The UNP rpoposals come in the wake of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge already having appointed a special parliamentary select committee, headed by trade minister Rauf Hakeem. The committee served as a face saver for Hakeem who backed down on a 100 day deadline he issued to the government threatening to withdraw the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress in the event the independent commissions were not set up. Published: Tue Feb 20 04:52:37 EST 2001

Political analysts in Sri Lanka have pointed out that if the Tigers are banned in the UK it will affect international opinion about the rebel force notwithstanding lending considerable bargaining power to the Lankan government. Published: Tue Feb 20 04:52:37 EST 2001

Britain is fully aware that the LTTE has already been banned in the United States, India and Malayasia. Analysts figure that in this context the UK could not ignore the requests made by the Sri Lankan Government and a wide section of Lankan society calling for the LTTE to be proscribed.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has avidly stressed the need to ban the Tigers in the UK, even going so far as to state that diplomatic relations beween Sri Lanka and the UK will be strained if the LTTE are not included on a list of British identified terrorist organizations.

The State maintains that Tamil politicians who have recently being lobbying hard for the UK to not ban the LTTE, do not represent the majority view of all Tamils in Sri Lanka. Political analysts assert that if the UK does ostracize the LTTE it would change international opinion of the rebel force.

Political analyst, Dion Jayatilleke said, it is not enough for the UK to merely pass an Anti Terrorism Act but that the country should implement the relevant provisions by which the Act is drawn and that proscribing the LTTE is an absolute necessity.

Some 70 Sri Lankans living in Virgina and Maryland on February 16, last week held a peaceful demonstration outside the British High Commission on Massachutes Avenue in Washington DC hoping to influence the decisions of British policy makers when the UK ban on terrorist organizations comes into effect today. Holding huge placards depicting the face of Tiger Chief, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the Sri Lankans ended the demonstration after handing over a letter to high commission officials. The letter was addressed to British Premier Tony Blair and appealed to him to proscribe the LTTE as a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile Eric Solheim, Norway's Special peace Envoy will not arrive in Sri Lanka this week as expected. Solheim's visit has been postponed as both the government and the LTTE have reached a deadlock over internal and external issues regarding the Memorandum of Understanding. Norway was expected this week to indicate the dates on which the first round of discussions would take place and finalize the location. Published: Mon Feb 19 07:10:54 EST 2001

Some eight countries have been identified by Norway to sit on this committee. Norway has encountered a stumbling block however as both the Government and the LTTE have objected to certain countries being on the committee. Some nations, the Government is not keen to have as the countries are perceived to be sympathetic to the LTTE. The Tigers have also voiced concern over some countries which the rebels say are supplying arms to the Lankan Government. Published: Tue Feb 20 04:52:36 EST 2001