: organizations. 

Peace talks, suspended since April, 2003, are still stuck over LTTE demands for autonomy. Meanwhile, the rebels are having a hard time maintaining cohesion in the areas they control (more or less.) While the LTTE Tamils see themselves as an oppressed minority, they also have to deal with minorities within their own communities. These minorities are protesting oppression from the dictatorial and ruthless LTTE leadership. 

September 16, 2004: The LTTE finally announced that they were willing to give ground on their demands for autonomy. There was no indication how much they would move from their long held position. But there is a sense that dissent within the LTTE, and the growing power of the Sri Lankan army has persuaded the LTTE that a