Sri Lanka's newly elected President Mahinda Rajapakse called an emergency meeting of his aides yesterday, a day after the top Tamil Tiger leader threatened to intensify the rebels' struggle for an independent homeland next year if the ethnic minority's grievances were not addressed.
The president's office said Rajapakse was meeting with aides and members of his Cabinet and would make an official statement after studying the text of Velupillai Prabhakaran's speech.
Prabhakaran did not set an exact deadline in his speech on Sunday, but said that Rajapakse must lay out a plan that satisfies the political aspirations of the country's 3.2 million Tamils, who seek a homeland in the northeast.
"If the new government rejects our urgent appeal, we will, next year, in solidarity with our people, intensify our struggle for self-determination, our struggle for national liberation to establish self-government in our homeland," he said.
Guerrillas armed with rocket launchers and submachine guns were on Sunday seen patrolling near military positions in eastern Sri Lanka, while the top military general said his troops were ready to defend the country.
"We are always committed to the ceasefire, but if they withdraw and attack us we are not going to just sit and watch. We are going to retaliate," army commander Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda said on Sunday.
Hagrup Haukland, who heads the Norwegian-led mission responsible for monitoring a 2002 ceasefire, said his 60 international monitors were at their posts and that there has been no change on the ground.
"We are continuing with our mandate and monitoring," Haukland said yesterday.
Prabhakaran delivered his speech on the rebels' annual "Heroes' Day" to pay homage to guerrillas killed while fighting government troops in their decades-long battle to carve out a separate Tamil state.
Days earlier, Rajapakse had rejected rebel demands for a homeland and promised to overhaul the ceasefire to curb violence and child recruitment by the Tigers.
Prabhakaran said the patience of his people was running out.
"Our people have lost patience, hope and reached the brink of utter frustration. They are not prepared to be tolerant any longer," he said.
The rebels say ethnic Tamils face discrimination from Sri Lanka's 14 million Singhalese, who live mostly in the south and central parts of the tropical island.
Most of the east is under government control, but the rebels have more than two dozen camps in the region. In the north, the rebels have widespread control.
The rebels say 17,903 of their members have died while fighting government forces.
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