Britain will freeze the assets of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebel group to cut off financing for the insurgency movement, state-run radio said on Sunday. British Treasury Chief Gordon Brown ordered his country to freeze the Tamil Tiger assets as part of a sweeping move that freezes the assets of all groups cited in a new US list of terrorist organizations, the radio report said. The new list was published after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington and includes the Tamil Tigers. It is believed that the rebels are funded in large part by the Tamil community in Britain.
“We will do whatever is necessary to deprive terrorists of the funds they rely on,” Brown said in the broadcast. The LTTE has been outlawed by the United States, Britain, India and Sri Lanka. Bureau Report