France apologizes for Tamil Tiger stamps

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- France has apologized to the Sri Lankan government after the French post office issued stamps supporting the armed separatist Tamil Tiger group.

G.L. Peiris, Sri Lanka's external affairs minister, noted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group, which is banned in France, also has been designated a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, Radio France Internationale reported.

Peiris expressed "acute concern" over the four sets of stamps issued by the French post office, La Poste.

Some of the stamps bear an image of slain LTTE leader Velipullai Prabhakaran, while others display the movement's logo.

La Poste called the release of the "stamps with inappropriate visuals" a "mistake," the French Embassy in Sri Lanka said in a statement, and the post office said it would not produce any more stamps for the group that commissioned the LTTE stamps.

RFI said the stamps were produced by a La Poste service in which subscribers are invited to upload images to be printed on custom-made stamps.

Sri Lanka's government said LTTE, defeated in 2009 after a long war with the government, had instructed supporters to use the stamps to raise funds and show support for its cause.