Sri Lankan ministers dismissed

The prime minister is critical of the move

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has dismissed 39 junior ministers ahead of elections in April.

Reports say her aim is to prevent ministers from misusing official assets to help their re-election campaigns.

The president is engaged in a bitter power struggle with Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe caused by differences over the peace process.

She believes Mr Wickramasinghe has made too many concessions in negotiations with Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels.

Cabinet shrink

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Colombo says that the president's decision to formally remove the 39 non-cabinet ministers from their posts was not a complete surprise.

Under the technicalities of the constitution, their tenure ended when parliament was dissolved on Saturday.

The cabinet ministers, however, are staying in their place as the caretaker government.

A statement released by the president said: "In view of the dissolution of Parliament, I have decided to remove all non-cabinet and deputy ministers by virtue of powers vested in me."

The two Sri Lankan leaders disagree over negotiations with Tamil Tigers

The sacked ministers - all supporters of the prime minister - headed departments such as highway development, housing development and irrigation.

Our correspondent says that the thinking is that such a large number of ministers might misuse their staff, buildings and cars to organise their election campaigns - something that has happened in the past.

A letter from the president's office to the ministers complained that vehicles, office equipment and important documents were already being taken away from ministries illegally.

Presidential spokesman Janadasa Peiris said: "We had requests to remove their vehicles, since it is unfair for them to contest the election with these facilities."

The president's move has been criticised by the spokesman for Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.

He accused her of inconsistency because she had not removed non-cabinet ministers during the last two election campaigns.

His spokesman has already complained that the president acted undemocratically in dissolving parliament while his government still had a majority.

Accusation

Supporters of the president say her move to hold fresh elections will save the country from anarchy.

The power struggle between President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe erupted in November when the president took over three of his top ministries, accusing him of making too many concessions to Tamil Tiger rebels during peace talks.

The conflict has killed about 64,000 people, displaced one million and held back the island's growth and economic development.

The Colombo stock exchange lost more than 10% in value on Monday, the first day of trading after the news of elections.

The loss was the second largest in the history of the exchange.