COLOMBO, 8 November 2003 — After setting off days of political turmoil, Sri Lanka’s president lashed out at her main opponent yesterday, saying the prime minister had put the security of the nation “in grave danger” in negotiations with Tamil rebels. She called for parties to form a government of national unity.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who plunged Sri Lanka into political crisis this week with a series of moves to entrench her power, said in a televised address that all her decisions were made “to rectify the situation.”
While she insisted that she wanted peace for Sri Lanka, which has been wracked by civil war for two decades, she also condemned the peace process led by the prime minister.
“My commitment to peace is total. It is not a sheepskin I put on for grabbing power,” she said.
Her speech came hours after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe returned from an official visit to the United States to a rousing welcome, with more than 7,000 people crowding into Colombo’s airport and many thousands more jamming the streets as his motorcade headed toward town.
Wickremesinghe insisted he had not been defeated by the president, his longtime bitter rival.
“I would like to say that as far as my government is concerned, the government’s majority is intact,” he said.
The president’s speech made clear that the political upheaval of the past few days is far from over.
Kumaratunga on Tuesday fired three of Wickremesinghe’s most powerful supporters from the Cabinet, suspended Parliament and, on Wednesday, declared a state of emergency. All this was done while Wickremesinghe was in Washington to meet with President George W. Bush.
Then, yesterday, she canceled the state of emergency decree — but officials said she was preparing a new, milder measure to boost the power of the armed forces, which fall under her control.
She defended those moves during her televised address, saying the Tigers had taken advantage of peace talks to aggressively reinforce their military position by smuggling in weapons and building bases.
“The sovereignty of the state of Sri Lanka, its territorial integrity and the security of the nation have been placed in grave danger,” by Wickremesinghe’s government, she said.
But thousands of Wickremesinghe’s supporters clearly disagreed, calling out support as he drove into the town. “Father of peace, we are with you,” read one poster, welcoming him back from Washington.
However, thousands of protesters marched through the city in a separate demonstration, voicing opposition to a recent rebel peace proposal that demands broad autonomy in the Tamil-dominated northeast. Some of the marchers urged support for the president and criticized the prime minister.
Wickremesinghe was expected to seek a crucial face-to-face meeting with Kumaratunga, although it was not clear when that would take place, officials at Wickremesinghe’s office said.
“I will see that Parliament is re-summoned immediately to continue the peace process,” the prime minister told reporters at the airport. “Parliament is the focal point of the peace process and with Parliament closed we cannot take the peace process forward,” he said.
