Canada has listed Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels as a terrorist group and made it a crime to support or participate in its activities, the new Conservative government announced on Monday.
"The decision to list the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is long overdue and something the previous government did not take seriously enough to act upon," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in a statement.
"Our government is clearly determined to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of Canadians against terrorism."
Canada's Conservatives defeated the Liberal government in an election on January 23. The decision on the Tigers was made on Saturday. Listing the Tigers as a terrorist group under the Canadian Criminal Code means it is now illegal for any person in Canada to provide support, facilitate or participate in the activities of the group, including providing any financial support.
The government called the listing "a clear statement that anyone supporting the LTTE is not welcome in Canada and if they do support the terrorist activities of the LTTE, they can be subject to criminal prosecution." The Tigers are already listed along side al Qaeda as a terrorist group by several countries including the United States, Britain and India.
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