Sri Lankan president condemned

The emergency measures increase the president's powers

The Sri Lankan cabinet has demanded that parliament be reconvened as the country's political crisis deepens.

It also called for the re-instatement of the ministers of defence, interior and information.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has suspended parliament, sacked the ministers and declared a state of emergency.

Her bitter political rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, is currently in the United States.

The president had previously criticised concessions made by the government to the Tamil Tigers rebel group, which is observing a ceasefire and involved in negotiations with the government.

Government spokesman G L Peiris, announcing the cabinet's demands, condemned what he described as the "gross abuse of presidential power".

He said: "There is no vestige of justification for the president's actions", adding that the cabinet "will do everything in its power to reverse the short-sighted and selfish actions".

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The cabinet also demanded the removal of presidential appointees from a state television station and the main state-run publishing house.

President supreme in Lanka's defence Headline in the formerly pro-government Daily News

Thursday saw state-run media switch allegiance to President Kumaratunga from the government of Prime Minister Wickramasinghe as the 10-day state of emergency came into force.

Mr Peiris also said that the US had delayed finalising a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka during the prime minister's visit to Washington because of the island's political crisis.

"The US was ready to finalise the agreement during the prime minister's visit. Now the US has decided not to do this and they will wait for the parliament to assert full authority."

Mr Peiris added that 2,000 tourists had cancelled their holidays on the island, which is known for its beautiful beaches.

The state of emergency gives the military wide-ranging powers of detention and bans public gatherings.

President Kumaratunga has defended her actions, adding that peace talks with the Tamil Tigers will continue.

Her office said in a statement that the "government will continue to negotiate with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and will be guided and supported in its quest for a negotiated settlement".

Tamil concerns

Speaking following talks with President George W Bush on Wednesday, Mr Wickramasinghe said he had an electoral mandate to bring peace to Sri Lanka.

When I go back I will sort it out Ranil Wickramasinghe

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

"For 25 years we have had these ups and downs," he said. "When I go back I will sort it out."

He is due to return to Sri Lanka on Friday.

The BBC's Frances Harrison, in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, says it is not clear what options are available to Mr Wickramasinghe, who cannot govern without key ministries but will find it difficult to mount a legal challenge to the president.

Our correspondent adds, however, that if Mrs Kumaratunga does come out on top of this power struggle, she may face some resistance from an international community which has expressed concerns for the future of Sri Lanka's peace process.

The streets of Colombo are reported to be calm, but the stock market has fallen heavily since the crisis began.

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But in the north of the island, where most of the Tamil minority ethnic group lives, many people are reported to be stocking up on fuel and food amid fears that hostilities between the Tigers and government forces are about to recommence.

Thirumalai Manivannan, editor of the BBC's Tamil service, says that whenever Colombo has invoked emergency provisions citing security fears, it has often meant imprisonment and harassment of members of the Tamil minority.

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