Ruling out the possibility of any sudden fall of its last bastions of Killinochchi and Mulaitivu, Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran has said that his group still had thousands of fighters and was also working to "rebuild" relationship with India.
Saying that the Tigers still had "many thousands" of armed cadres intact, Prabhakaran contested claims of the Sri
Lankan forces that they were poised to capture the rebel strongholds.
"Recent heavy losses faced by the Sri Lankan military in Kilinochchi battles" tell the story of how the battle is going
on, Prabhakaran claimed in an e-mail interview.
He said the Tigers has the backing of the entire Tamil people of the island and LTTE was fighting for their rights.
"The
Tamils are the force behind this struggle. It is the desire of the people that Kilinochchi should be defended
and they are also working hard in the background to achieve this," Prabhakaran told Lankan newspaper,
The Lakbima News.
Asked whether India would back him in the light of the LTTE hand in the assasination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the LTTE supremo said the outfit was in the process of rebuilding ties with India.
"We are working to rebuild our contacts and relationship with the Indian government through political and
diplomatic channels. The environment, in which the Indian government too will support our struggle, is in the making. Most people may not know this but I believe some people are aware of this," he said.