Sri Lankan PM defiant, stresses peace process ( 2003-11-07 16:25) (Agencies)
A defiant Sri Lankan prime minister returned home Friday saying a peace
process with Tamil rebels at the heart of a power struggle with the island's
president must stay on track.
Fresh from receiving a seal of approval for his peace bid in the United
States, Ranil Wickremesinghe was mobbed by rapturous crowds, garlanded with
flowers and bowed to a group of Buddhist monks after he stepped off the plane
upon his return to Colombo.
Tens of thousands of well-wishers lined the highway from the airport chanting
his name, dancing and waving banners as his convoy traveled at a walking pace
into the capital.
"Parliament must reassemble. It is the only body with a mandate for
negotiations," Wickremesinghe said, three days after President Chandrika
Kumaratunga suspended parliament and sparked a crisis that threatens a 20-month
cease-fire with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Kumaratunga has accused the government of giving away too much to the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the world's most ferocious
guerrilla groups, and said she was acting in the country's interests.
Political observers said the standoff over the peace process could end in a
general election, the third in four years.
"We have to ensure parliament resumes so the peace process can continue,"
said Wickremesinghe, who wore a white collarless shirt and seemed relaxed as he
smiled and waved to the crowds.
The cease-fire signed 20 months ago by Wickremesinghe and the rebels has
given the island its longest period of peace since the war that has killed
64,000 broke out in 1983.
The president, who suspended parliament until November 19, had been due to
address the nation at 0600 GMT on the political crisis, but that was delayed
until 1430 GMT.
Wickremesinghe said he would seek talks Sri Lanka's allies including giant
neighbor India and peace mediator Norway.
Vidar Helegsen, deputy foreign minister of Norway, which brokered the truce
with the Tigers, is due in Sri Lanka early next week for talks, while
neighboring India has voiced concern the political stalemate could threaten the
peace effort.
A rebel military leader said Friday the Tigers would be patient.
The split between the president and prime minister has been looming since
Wickremesinghe won parliamentary elections late in 2001, campaigning on a
platform of pursuing peace with the Tigers to defeat Kumaratunga's party.
MORE POWERS
Kumaratunga also sacked three cabinet ministers, but confusion surrounded a
state of emergency declared Wednesday -- which set off alarm bells around the
island -- and one of her aides said Friday it was never put in place because the
order had never been officially gazetted, or published.
Instead, she passed a separate order, that was gazetted, giving the military
more powers to maintain public order.
The Colombo Stock Exchange index jumped about 12 percent on Friday on
Wickremesinghe's return and on the news there was no state of emergency. The
index fell 13 percent Wednesday and ended flat Thursday because of the crisis.
Kumaratunga, citing security concerns, made her moves while Wickremesinghe
was visiting Washington, where he met U.S. President Bush.
"I can only tell you that this has nothing to do with security," said sacked
Defense Minister Tilak Marapana, referring to the president's actions.
"This has to do with an agenda to take over a portfolio to trigger an
election," he said.
The LTTE has said political infighting in the capital would make it more
difficult to cut a peace deal, but Friday the rebels said they would remain
calm.
"We have to observe the political turmoil in Colombo quite soberly... We can
remain patient as long as we are strong," military leader Colonel V. Karuna was
quoted as saying by the pro-rebel Tamilnet Web site.
Kumaratunga's office said she "has only exercised her responsibility as the
constitutional head of state in the greater interest of the sovereignty and the
security of the nation."
It added: "The president is committed to the continuity of the cease-fire
agreement and to keep open the channel of communication with the LTTE and to a
negotiated settlement within a united country."
