Sri Lanka PM 'still in control'

The emergency measures increase Kumaratunga's powers

Sri Lanka's prime minister insists he still has a mandate for reaching peace with Tamil Tiger rebels despite a growing political crisis.

Ranil Wickramasinghe was speaking in the US after President Chandrika Kumaratunga had declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament.

He accused the president of seeking to create "anarchy and chaos" while he was out of the country.

The president is unhappy at the prime minister's handling of peace moves.

For 25 years we have had these ups and downs Ranil Wickramasinghe Sri Lankan Prime Minister

At talks in Washington with President George W Bush, Mr Wickramasinghe acknowledged "things had changed" back home but said he had a mandate to bring peace to Sri Lanka.

Earlier, President Kumaratunga had declared a state of emergency in Sri Lanka which began officially at 1800 GMT on Wednesday, citing instability in the country.

However, she stressed that the current ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would not be affected by the emergency measures.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council, Sean McCormack, said Washington firmly supported the peace process and he urged the president and prime minister to work together.

The US is co-chairman of donor countries supporting Sri Lanka.

The BBC's correspondent in Colombo, Frances Harrison, says the state of emergency is being widely seen as a constitutional coup against the government.

Talks request

Mr Wickramasinghe said he had told President Bush the current dispute was "part of Sri Lankan politics".

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"For 25 years we have had these ups and downs," he said.

Government ministers said that, despite the turmoil, they had asked peace mediator Norway to proceed with arranging face-to-face talks with rebels, later this month or early next month.

Our correspondent says troops have been deployed around key installations and the police put on alert.

The capital is reported to be calm, with few signs of increased security on the streets or searches being carried out.

The emergency allows for detentions without charge, bans public gatherings and gives the president extensive control over the media.

Thirumalai Manivannan, editor of the BBC's Tamil service, says the Tamil community and Tamil Tigers are likely to be alarmed at the latest political developments.

He says whenever Colombo has invoked emergency provisions citing security fears, it has often meant imprisonment and harassment of members of the Tamil minority.

The LTTE has not commented on the president's moves, but Thirumalai Manivannan says there are fears among Tamils about the peace process.

Truce 'holds'

Mrs Kumaratunga's chief adviser, Lakshman Kadirgamar, said the president had suspended had parliament and sacked the information, defence and interior ministers on Tuesday because of the worsening security situation in the country.

The move was not linked, the adviser said, to Tamil Tiger proposals for power-sharing were made public four days ago.

"The president has specifically asked me to state that the ceasefire agreement stands, and will stand and there is no question about it," said Mr Kadirgamar.

The ceasefire between the government and rebels was brokered by Norwegian mediators and signed in February 2002.