Sri Lanka Updates List of Designated Terrorist Entities and Individuals in New Gazette

The Sri Lankan government has issued an Extraordinary Gazette notification amending its list of designated persons, groups, and entities involved in terrorist activities.

The Gazette, issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha, updates the previous list published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 1854/41 of March 21, 2014, and last amended by Gazette Extraordinary No. 2387/02 of June 3, 2024.

The updated list includes 15 entities and 222 individuals identified as being associated with terrorist activities.

Designated Entities:

1. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
2. Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)
3. Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)
4. World Tamil Movement (WTM)
5. Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
6. World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)
7. Headquarters Group (HQ Group)
8. National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ)
9. Jama’athe Milla’athe Ibrahim (JMI)
10. Willayath As Seylani (WAS)
11. National Council of Canadian Tamil (NCCT)
12. Tamil Youth Organization (TYO)
13. Darul Adhar Ath’thabawiyya
14. Sri Lanka Islamic Student Movement (S.L.I.S.M)
15. Save the Pearls

Under regulation 5 of the United Nations Regulations No. 1 of 2012, the order mandates the freezing of all funds, financial assets, and economic resources belonging to or owned by the designated individuals and entities. This action aims to curb the financing of terrorism and prevent resources from being used to support extremist activities.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is a separatist militant organization that waged a violent campaign for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka from 1983 until its defeat in 2009. The National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) gained notoriety for its involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, which resulted in significant loss of life and heightened concerns about extremist activities in the country.

This latest amendment reflects the Sri Lankan government's ongoing efforts to update and enforce measures against individuals and groups implicated in terrorism, ensuring that their assets are frozen to disrupt potential funding channels for illicit activities.