"The LTTE is no longer a factor. It was military defeated and it cannot achieve a separate state even if it had the military prowess What can it do it now?" Lankan Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa was quoted as saying.

The pro-LTTE TamilNet did not carry Pathmanathan's statement and it is not clear if he is really in charge of the rebel remnants.

However, in a column, it has said the "need of the time now is the metamorphosis of the existing infrastructure into a democratic and inclusive transnational government of Eezham Tamils to strengthen the diaspora socially, economically and culturally; to achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty of Eezham Tamils in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally."

The Tamil diaspora, mostly in Canada, Australia and UK, has been donating millions of dollars for the LTTE cause. The Tigers are a banned terrorist group in most Western countries. Last week, the founder of the British Tamil Association was sentenced to two years in jail for illegally procuring electrical components for the group.