profile of Sri Lankan guerilla group ahead of elections

(29 Mar 2004) SHOTLIST : Sri Lanka and New Delhi, recent Plus APTN File
File - Northern rebel territory, Sri Lanka - October 2002
1. Various of Tamil Tiger navy or "Sea Tigers" in boats
2. Tamil Tigers watching
3. Various of Sea Tigers in boat fitted with guns
4. Various of female Tamil Tigers or "Freedom Birds" at parade
5. Tamil Tigers
6. Crowd watching parade as Tigers keep watch
File - Northern rebel territory, Sri Lanka - November 2002
7. Flag hoisting ceremony to commemorate the Tamil Tiger rebels killed in fighting with Sri Lankan forces
8. Tamil Tiger commander raising flag
9. Tamil Tiger flag
File - Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka - 10 April 2002
10. LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran
11. Prabhakaran flanked by his security guard and advisor Anton Balasingham (left of screen)
File - Northern rebel territory, February 2002
12. Convoy carrying Norwegian delegation arriving to meet Prabhakaran
13. Prabhakaran meeting Norwegian delegation
New Delhi - 20 March 2004
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Prof. S.D. Muni, School of International Studies, Jawahar lal Nehru University:
"The fact that they have not violated the cease fire, the fact that they have not resorted to war again after this utter confusion in Colombo and the conflict between the Prime Minister and the President is a very clear indication that the Tigers would be willing or otherwise are prepared to deal with any government which is there in Colombo. I must hasten to add here that the situation has changed slightly after the elections were called and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) got split. So the problem is that it is not one LTTE we are talking about - now we are talking about two LTTEs."
Batticaloa, Eastern Sri Lanka - 4 March 2004
15. Village
16. Tamil Tigers under the rebel breakaway group leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, also known as Karuna
17. Grenade launcher, Tamil Tiger fighters in background
18. Armed Tamil Tiger
19. Renegade Tamil Tiger Commander Karuna
New Delhi - 20 March 2004
20. SOUNDBITE: (English ) Prof. S.D.Muni, School of International Studies, Jawahar lal Nehru University:
"It (the LTTE split )has also serious implications as to the agenda of peace. Because so far we have one sort of proposal put forth from Mr. Prabhakaran''s side and Karuna on the eastern side - this is what he is saying that the interests of the East have not been taken care of. So he may want to - and he has already said that - that I would negotiate a different cease fire agreement with the Colombo government, meaning thereby a different solution to the Tamil problem. And I think this divides the Tamils right in the middle as to what is the solution which they are wanting."
Colombo, Sri Lanka - 23 January 2004
21. Various of delegates arriving for donors'' meeting
22. Various of donors'' meeting
23. Japanese envoy Yasushi Akashi at meeting
File - Northern rebel territory, Sri Lanka - October 2002
24. Various of Tamil women sitting near the graves of their dead relatives and mourning
STORYLINE :
Voters living in areas controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels will be able to vote in this week''s parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka - the first time since a civil war split their island in 1983.
Civil war started when the Tigers launched a bloody rebellion against the Sri Lankan Government in 1983, angry over what ethnic Tamils claimed was unfair treatment at the hands of the ruling Sinhalese majority.
The Tigers were seeking an independent homeland for the country''s 3.2 million minority Tamils.
More than 65-thousand people perished in the ensuing civil war.

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