Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels warned the government on Sunday they would intensify their independence fight unless given acceptable political power, in a speech analysts said was diplomatic but also threatening.
Rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said the Tigers would wait to see how perceived hard-line new President Mahinda Rajapakse would approach the island's stalled peace process.
"Our people have lost patience, hope and reached the brink of utter frustration," Prabhakaran said in his annual Heroes' Day address to commemorate the rebel war dead.
"The new govt should come forward soon with a reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people." Without government accommodations, the Tigers would intensify their struggle, he said - seen as a thinly veiled threat of war. A picture on the rebel Web site showed Prabhakaran dressed in tiger-striped combat fatigues.