Sri Lanka president faces impeachment

UNP accuses Mrs Kumuratunga of ignoring her cabinet

By Frances Harrison in Colombo

Sri Lanka's main opposition party is seeking to impeach President Chandrika Kumuratunga, officials say.

The United National Party alleges the president violated the constitution by failing to consult her cabinet before floating the Sri Lankan rupee last month

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says the president has publicly demonstrated a lack of confidence in her own ministers.

Wickremesinghe frequently calls for president to step down

The opposition is keen to capitalise on public discontent about the rising cost of living caused by the devaluation of the currency.

"She doesn't inform them, she doesn't get their consent, she acts on her own. So what's the use of the ministers?" Mr Wickremesinghe said.

Report due

The UNP has set up a committee of parliamentarians and lawyers to study how to impeach the president.

A report is expected to be given to the party next month.

Mrs Kumuratunga is currently on a state visit to India.

The president held talks on Friday with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to discuss the future of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

With 46 members, Sri Lanka has one of the biggest cabinets in the world.

Analysts describe the size of the cabinet as a symptom of too many politicians demanding the rewards of office in return for support during elections.

The opposition is itself under fire for not stating its position on whether Britain should ban the Tamil Tigers.

Rising prices

But Mr Wickremesinghe said the most pressing issue for Sri Lankans was now the state of the economy.

She doesn't inform them, she doesn't get their consent, she acts on her own. So what's the use of the ministers?

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe

Pointing to the 25% drop in the value of the rupee in the last two years, he said people who could not afford to eat did not care about the war in the north.

An impeachment of Mrs Kumuratunga would be a lengthy process under Sri Lanka's constitution.

A two-thirds majority of the 225-seat parliament would be required.

Earlier this month, more than 10,000 people marched through Colombo in protest at rising prices.

Aside from the flotation of the rupee, prices have also been driven up by the huge and rising cost of buying arms to fight the Tamil Tiger separatists.