The designation was one of thirty announced by the State Department on October 8, 1997, under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996.

LTTE’s application, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., challenges the designation, the validity of the law and the procedures followed in making the designation. V. Manoharan, the international representative of LTTE, stated, "We feel we have a moral obligation to challenge the designation."

The challenge states in part:

"LTTE is an organization representing the Tamil people who are being subjected to deadly violence, deprived of basic human rights and systematically discriminated against and persecuted by the Sri Lankan government dominated by the Sinhala people. LTTE is the de facto government of a de facto state. It is employing legitimate political violence as a last resort for self-defense. LTTE is a national liberation movement seeking to realize the right of the Tamil people to self determination pursuant to a mandate given by the Tamil people in the 1977 election, the last authentic election held in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka.
LTTE presents no threat to the security of the United States, and is not a terrorist organization as defined under the laws of the United States and under international law." [Full Text]

For a copy of the court papers filed by LTTE contact V. Rudrakumaran, one of the attorneys representing LTTE, see above.

Legal representation for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the United States is being provided by:

Mr. Ramsey Clark Esq., former Attorney General of the United States under President Johnson, Mr. Lawrence W. Schilling, Esq. Attorney at Law, and Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran Esq., attorney-at-law with Professor Richard Falk Esq., Professor of Law at Princeton University; Professor David Cole Esq., Professor of Law at Georgetown University; and Mr. Wakely Paul Esq., Attorney-at-Law serving as consultants to the legal team.