11.  Prabhakaran said conditions are not yet right for giving up the demand for an independent Tamil state.

12.  Prabhakaran is leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which is fighting to establish a Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

13.  Prabhakaran leads the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who are fighting to establish a Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

14.  Rebels have attacked Sinhalese and Muslim civilians in areas they believe should belong to a Tamil state, trying to create panic and drive them away.

15.  Sri Lankan prime minister rejects any separate Tamil state,

16.  Tamil rebel groups declared all-out war, concluding that only an independent Tamil state could protect their people.

17.  The rebels want an independent Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

18.  The Tigers want to establish an independent Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

19.  An Indian Tamil party has backed the creation of an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka and opposed demands for a new Indian military intervention on the island.

20.  Colombo has said it was willing to discuss any issue except the question of a separate Tamil state.