Have the Tamil Tigers finally been cornered? In a diplomatic coup for President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese nationalist hardliners who elected him last November, the European Union is expected on Monday to add the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to its list of banned terrorist groups. The EU's decision, which follows similar moves by India, the US, UK and, most recently, Canada, intensifies the diplomatic isolation of a group that has been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983.

"The LTTE thought the world was with them," says a jubilant Mr Rajapakse in an interview at his residence in Colombo, confident that the EU ban will help force the Tamil Tigers back to the negotiating table. "Their propaganda machine was very effective. Now, with the EU ban coming, they will realise that they can't use these tactics, killing innocent people, murdering. They will have to think twice and be much more careful. They have to think twice about fighting the whole world. Whoever has political sense won't do that."