OTTAWA — Canada condemns terrorist activity by the Tamil Tigers, including suspected recruitment of child soldiers, but the Liberal government still isn't ready to outlaw the organization, says Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew.

Moving now to put the Tigers on Ottawa's proscribed list of terrorist organizations could disrupt delicate efforts to negotiate peace in Sri Lanka, Pettigrew said Tuesday.

He was queried at a Commons committee, in light of reports by New York-based Human Rights Watch and by UNICEF that the Tigers have been recruiting children orphaned by the Asian tsunami.

Tamil nationalists say they are offering charity, not forcing the children to join their struggle against the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka.

Pettigrew said Ottawa takes the reports of forced recruitment seriously and "we absolutely condemn the abduction of children and believe that it is fundamentally wrong.''

But he added that several countries including the United States and Norway -- the latter deeply involved in mediation efforts in Sri Lanka -- have asked Ottawa not to aggravate the situation by moving against the Tigers in Canada.

"We believe it is better to try to work and engage them in a very fragile ceasefire, to strengthen it and maintain it,'' he said.

"We honestly believe at this time that it would not be useful to list the Tamil Tigers (as a terrorist organization).''

The Liberal government has barred the group -- officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam or LTTE -- from fundraising in Canada.

But it has not taken the additional step of outlawing simple membership in the organization -- a move long sought by Conservatives, including foreign affairs critic Stockwell Day.

Day renewed his demand Tuesday, insisting the best way to combat terrorism is "to stand up to it and not be seen as appeasing or accommodating it.''

He raised the issue after Pettigrew's cabinet colleague, Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, indicated Monday that the Foreign Affairs Department had been lobbying her against an outright ban on the Tigers.

McLellan made the comments at a Senate committee as she defended federal anti-terrorism legislation passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by Islamic extremists in New York and Washington.

The law allows police to make preventive arrests, hold people without charge for up to 72 hours and compel them to testify before a judge about suspected terrorist activity.

Most of the extraordinary powers have never been used, and only one person is known to have been charged under the legislation.

But McLellan said it remains a necessary part of anti-terrorist policy.

Concern about LTTE operations in Canada arose long before the 9-11 attacks heightened awareness of terrorist threats.

Prime Minister Paul Martin walked a fine line on a recent visit to Sri Lanka, where he inspected tsunami relief efforts and met with Tamil nationalist politicians.

Like Pettigrew he condemned terrorist acts but rejected calls for more stringent domestic action against the Tamil Tigers, saying Canada has been asked not to aggravate an already delicate situation.