In a rare appearance Wednesday evening before the world media, Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of a ruthless rebel army called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, declared that he wanted to look to a political resolution to the war he has waged against the Sri Lankan government nearly two decades.
Yet Prabhakaran, whose militants are known for brazen suicide attacks, reserved the right to continue an armed struggle, saying it could be renounced only when the conditions were right.
The news conference comes as the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government are poised to hold their first direct talks in eight years. To be mediated by the Norwegian government, the talks are to begin next month in Thailand. Wednesday’s news conference, a chaotic two-hour affair held inside a steaming tent here in the heart of the rebel-held territory, is widely seen as part of the leader’s campaign to shed his outlaw image and garner credibility.
The Tigers are on official terrorist lists in the United States, Britain and other countries.
“The leader,” as he is known among the Tigers, appeared at the news conference in a light gray safari suit, instead of the camouflage uniform and cyanide-tablet necklace in which he has long been pictured. Offering few details of the Tigers’ vision for peace, he spoke in generalities. His English-language interpreter was the Tigers’ chief negotiator and self-described theoretician, Anton Balasingham. Soldiers stood sentry.
Prabhakaran, a wanted man in Sri Lanka, has not given an interview since 1995.
Nearly 300 journalists from all over the world made a nine-hour road trip to this and another nearby rebel-held town, a vast majority heeding orders to be inside Tiger territory a day before the news conference.
It remains to be seen whether the latest cease-fire–the fifth since the war began — indicates genuine resolve or simply a ruse to consolidate arms and troops. Few expect Prabhakaran to abandon calls for a Tamil homeland, a demand the Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has categorically rejected as a subject of discussion.
