NEW DELHI -- When Velupillai Prabhakaran, the rebel leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), held his first press conference after a gap of 12 years, he generated some optimism that was no sooner overshadowed by pessimism.

The island nation has seen a bloody ethnic conflict between the majority Sinhala-speaking Buddhists and the minority largely Hindu Tamils who are fighting for a separate homeland. The civil war had gone on for almost two decades, before a recent Norwegian-brokered process set in motion a ceasefire between the government forces and the Tigers.

The rare meeting at Killinochchi in Sri Lanka indicated a degree of positive shift in Prabhakaran's tack. But it also revealed a few old black stripes on the top Tiger's coat.

His quest for peace may appear genuine, but it is obviously goaded by the changed global scenario today -- a fallout from the new world order where extremism is being tolerated less and less. The LTTE had been labeled terrorists by the governments of the United States, the U.K., Canada and India among others, and its funds have been drying up.

Yet, Prabhakaran did not quite rise up to the occasion in his meeting with the world press. In fact, he disappointed many.

N. Ram, editor of the Indian political fortnightly, "Frontline," called the whole show "a fiasco." He said that Anton Balasingham, LTTE's second in command, who acted as the English interpreter for Tamil-speaking Prabhakaran, covered up the supremo's often glaring exposure of his character, which clearly indicated that he was still ruthlessly dictatorial.

London-based The Economist newsmagazine hinted at being let down. Prabhakaran, it wrote, "does not make a plausible democrat."

In fact, until Sept. 11, he had been an audacious guerrilla fighter, brooking no dissent and finishing off people whom he suspected of betraying his cause. These included his own cadres and high-ranking leaders both within the LTTE and outside. During the course of its long struggle, the organization murdered a Sri Lankan president and nearly every Tamil politician of consequence with views more moderate than Prabhakaran's.

The LTTE also killed charismatic Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. New Delhi is still seeking Prabhakaran's extradition, and took understandable offense at his blatant appearance at the press meeting after many years in hiding.

Madras' reputed The Hindu daily, editorialized: "The simulated candor of Prabhakaran does not at all enhance his credibility as a serious interlocutor for peace and a political settlement. . . . He sought to whitewash and erase from collective memory his sordid record as a terrorist . . . and also hoodwink the international community about his actual political agenda at a different level."

Colombo could not have been at all happy at the way the press conference turned out. For Prabhakaran made it even clearer that the Tigers were not willing to drop their demand for an independent Tamil state, at least not at this stage. He said that he would reconsider this ultimate demand if the Tamils' right of self-determination was recognized.

However, Prabhakaran offered a few concessions. Political parties other than the LTTE will be allowed to operate in the Tamil stronghold of the northeast. He also apologized to the Muslims, whom the Tigers expelled from Jaffna in 1990. Muslims form an important pillar of the present government.

Sri Lanka's new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, seemed ready to travel more than halfway when he declared that his administration would accept one of Prabhakaran's central demands: lift the ban on the LTTE.

As much as one would like to wish Wickremesinghe luck, he must bear in mind that the ethnic crisis had been one long sordid tale of broken promises, deceit and rank selfishness. Prabhakaran and his men have been more than guilty of all these.

Will the Tigers be willing now for a clean break with the past? The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, thinks that this is highly unlikely. So do many others in the "Emerald Isle."