Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels yesterday warned they could take up arms again unless the future new government grants them self-rule recognizing their strong performance in weekend parliamentary elections.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the winning by their proxies -- the Tamil National Alliance -- of 22 seats, making them the third largest force in the new parliament, was an endorsement of the rebel 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 of Tamil self-rule should be accepted as the basic aspirations of the Tamil people," the LTTE said in a statement.
The Tamil National Alliance's performance in the polls showed that "the Tamil national problem should be politically resolved on that basis, failing which the Tamil people will fight to establish Tamil sovereignty in their homeland on the principle of self determination," it added.
It said the Tigers had won recognition as the "sole representatives" of minority Tamils following the April 2 vote which returned a hung parliament where President Chandrika Kumaratunga was set to form a government.
"The Tamil people have elevated the Tamil national struggle to a noble pedestal so that none could vilify or ignore it," the LTTE said. "We consider this a major political victory for our freedom struggle."
The LTTE statement posted on the outfit's Web site made no mention of resuming peace talks with a new government that must prove its majority at the first session of the next parliament on April 22.
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