The European Union today said it has decided to appeal against an EU court's lifting of the 2006 sanctions imposed on the LTTE, an issue that is at the forefront of the ongoing presidential campaign in Sri Lanka.
The EU Council has decided to appeal the Judgment of the General Court of European Union on October 16 that had annulled measures taken by the Council against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), namely the designation of LTTE as a terrorist organization and the freezing of its funds, a press release issued by the EU office here said today.
"It is important to remember that this legal ruling was clearly based on procedural grounds and it did not imply any assessment by the Court of the substantive issues of designating the LTTE or of freezing LTTE funds," it said.
The Council has now decided to challenge some of the findings of the Court regarding the procedural grounds to list terrorist organizations under EU autonomous measures to combat terrorism.
The effects of the Judgment are suspended until a final judgment is rendered by the Court of Justice, the release said.
The EU court ruling on procedural grounds became an issue in the ongoing Sri Lankan presidential campaign.
The incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa who is seeking a record third Presidential term has accused the main opposition United National Party (UNP) of conspiring with pro-LTTE diaspora to have the EU proscription lifted.
The opposition had reacted by accusing the Rajapaksa administration for not making necessary legal interventions to extend the 2006 EU ban on LTTE.
The LTTE was engaged in an "armed conflict" with Sri Lankan government forces for nearly-three decade, but were defeated in 2009 following the death of its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Apart from the EU, the LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organization in the USA, India, Canada, the UK and Sri Lanka.
