Denying the Tigers legitimacy took priority over resolving the conflict - and has led to the brink of war.

"Army-backed paramilitaries and troops continued what international monitors have described as a ‘campaign of targeted killings’"

“Since April this year the Sri Lanka military has conducted several bouts of sustained air and artillery bombardment against our controlled areas in Trincomalee” - Mr. Elilan

A scorched earth policy is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area.

LTTE forces escape SLA’s pincer move.

“ In spite of high-level negotiations between the UN and the Government, the issue of access to areas not under Government control has not been resolved,” the WFP said.

MORE than 11,000 Tamil refugees have fled to India since January to escape renewed fighting between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tigers and more are likely to come, officials said Thursday.

The figure includes a batch of about 500 refugees who travelled by boat to reach Mandapam camp in southern India`s Tamil Nadu state late Wednesday, said a senior government administrator from Ramanathapuram district.

“[We] also seek information and official notification from the Central Bank on the nature of its action and the reasons for such action with clear and precise details enabling TRO to respond adequately” - TRO

Tens of thousands of Tamils protested Monday across the world, and tuesday in London, against the proscriptions of the LTTE by EU.

Extracts of a speech by LTTE Colonel Jeyam at a memorial ceremony for Colonel Ramanan, assassinated by a Sri Lanka Army sniper on May 21

‘All his feats in the struggle are not known as they cannot be revealed now’

Senior LTTE commanders and officials paid tribute to Lt. Col. Veeramani, a former Commander of the Charles Antony Regiment, who succumbed to his wounds in an accidental explosion on May 25. LTTE officials in Kilinochchi said. Lt. Col. Veeramani, who recovered from earlier wounds in the battlefield, has been in charge of FDL points in Nagarkovil.

Amidst increasing accusations against Colombo of Sri Lankan troopers alleged involvement in extra-judicial killings and the terror-campaign let loose on Jaffna islets, Dr. Palitha Kohona, the Head of Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat, said last week that he suspects there might be contacts with the paramilitary cadres and the lower rank Sri Lankan troops.

The European Union resolution on May 18, the first step towards proscribing the Liberation Tigers, also marked the EU’s transition from observer to a partisan participant in Sri Lanka’s conflict. There are a number of controversial aspects to the resolution, including, for example, the directive to the LTTE to go for talks with the Sri Lankan government “without delay” and “be prepared to decommission weapons.”