COLOMBO - In their first reaction to parliamentary polls won by Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga's political alliance, Tamil Tiger rebels today warned they would renew their fight to win their demands if the new government denied them autonomy.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said their overwhelming sweep of the island's north and east in Friday's general election was a "major victory" and an endorsement of their nationalist struggle.
"A clear message has been effectively delivered by the Tamil people, in that, the concept of the Tamil homeland, Tamil Nationalism and the right for Tamil self rule should be accepted as the basic aspirations of the Tamil people..
"..and that the Tamil national problem should be politically resolved on that basis, failing which the Tamil people will fight to establish the Tamil sovereignty in their homeland on the principle of self determination," the rebels said in a statement.
The warning posted on the LTTE's peace secretariat website came hours after results of the poll were officially released showing President Kumaratunga's Freedom Alliance (FA) leading the pack with 105 seats in the 225-member Parliament but still short of an absolute majority.
Although Kumaratunga herself was not in the running, she spear-headed the election campaign and will now choose a prime minister from among her party's short-list of legislators-elect.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), whose candidates are LTTE proxies, pulled in at third place with 22 places, giving the group enough clout in the legislature to make or break the new government.
www.ptinews.com/pti/ptisite.nsf/$All/89F0F608C811C1D165256E6D00269BEA?OpenDocumeE-mail this article