New York, April 8 (IANS): The Sri Lankan government's decision to label 16 overseas Tamil groups as financiers of terrorism is so broad that it appears aimed at restricting peaceful activism by the Tamil minority, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

The government should provide evidence of the unlawful activity of specific groups and individuals or remove them from the list, the US-based body said.

On April 4, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris made public an order freezing the assets and financial resources of entities ranging from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was militarily defeated in 2009, to other Tamil organisations around the world.

Chief military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasuriya reportedly said that under the order, legal action would be taken against anyone having links with the listed groups.

This would place local activists and alleged group members visiting the country at risk of being detained and held without charge under Sri Lanka's abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act, Human Rights Watch said.

"The Sri Lankan government is using vague counterterrorism regulations to tie the major diaspora Tamil groups to the ruthless but defunct LTTE," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"This broad-brush sanction could then be used to punish local Tamil activists and politicians with international ties."