LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran's media conference was an unprecedented event with nearly 300 local and foreign journalists making the tortuous journey to his heavily guarded headquarters in Wanni. For Sri Lanka, this was an unprecedented media event, indicating the impact of the LTTE on the country, and the mystery surrounding its leader which enticed even the world media. The press meet received mixed reviews from its viewers, which would have included virtually the entirety of the Sri Lankan population with access to television.
But one thing is certain. The demon-like and superhuman images of the once elusive Tiger leader disappeared in the glare of the television lights. Prabakaran came across as extremely human and perhaps even ordinary. Especially at the initial stages of the media conference he appeared uneasy and perhaps even trapped as he faced a hostile and critical barrage of questions from foreign and mostly Indian journalists. The human side of Prabakaran may be reassuring to those who believed him capable of superhuman feats and therefore felt threatened to the point of irrationality by him.
The battle for hearts and minds through the television screen is entirely different from the battle for military victory which the LTTE commander has specialised in and in which he has an undoubted genius. The art of persuasion in which politicians excel is entirely different from that of imposing by force which is what the LTTE has excelled in up to now. Perhaps Prabakaran will learn to perform more sophisticatedly at future media conferences as a politician might have done. But for this time it suffices that he came across as speaking without bluff or bluster, addressing the point of the question for the most part and saying why he would not elaborate on other questions.
Those who expected the media conference to herald a startling breakthrough for peace were disappointed. The LTTE leader neither withdrew from his aspiration for an independent state of Tamil Eelam nor did he guarantee that his guns would be spiked forever. On the other hand, there was also relief that he did not strike an intransigent posture that could have undermined the ongoing peace process. While sticking to his old positions, Prabakaran seemed to wish to communicate a determination to stick to the peace process as well. This may account for his repeated assertions that he had faith and confidence in the sincerity of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.