10-24-2003, 05:00 PM
Protest at Sri Lanka peace process
Wickramasinghe and Kumaratunga have deep differences over the peace process
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have held a rally in Colombo to protest against the handling of the peace process with Tamil rebels.
The supporters of the country's leading opposition party gathered in a park to shout anti-government slogans before dispersing peacefully.
Opposition spokesman Maithripala Sirisena said the protests would be taken into the provinces over the next two months to put pressure on the government not to give too much to the rebels.
The rally came a day after the head of the main opposition - and the country's president - Chandrika Kumaratunga called for the Norwegian general who heads the island's peace monitoring mission to be sacked.
Diplomats' surprise
Mr Sirisena told the AFP news agency that the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe was trying to break up the country.
And as positions on the peace process polarised, one Tamil MP quit Mrs Kumaratunga's People's Alliance to join the Tamil National Alliance.
A Tamil Tiger near Trincomalee, where tension is high with Muslims
Diplomats on Friday expressed surprise at the president's call for Oslo, which is sponsoring the peace process, to withdraw Major-General Tryggve Tellefsen.
One Asian diplomat said: "We knew the president was unhappy but no one expected her to take a drastic step like this. This puts the Norwegians in a difficult position."
The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has not yet responded to Mrs Kumaratunga's demand.
She has long been critical of the way the peace process has been handled under Mr Wickramasinghe.
In May, her party branded Norway a nation of "salmon-eating busybodies".
The People's Alliance lost elections to Mr Wickramasinghe in December 2001.
Tensions are also continuing between Tamil and Muslim communities in some areas.
On Friday, a curfew imposed on a Muslim-dominated town in the east was extended until further notice.
The town of Kinniya near Trincomalee was the scene of angry demonstrations by Muslims on Thursday protesting against the alleged abduction of a Muslim farmer by Tamil Tiger activists earlier in the week.
The Tigers denied any involvement.
bbc
Wickramasinghe and Kumaratunga have deep differences over the peace process
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have held a rally in Colombo to protest against the handling of the peace process with Tamil rebels.
The supporters of the country's leading opposition party gathered in a park to shout anti-government slogans before dispersing peacefully.
Opposition spokesman Maithripala Sirisena said the protests would be taken into the provinces over the next two months to put pressure on the government not to give too much to the rebels.
The rally came a day after the head of the main opposition - and the country's president - Chandrika Kumaratunga called for the Norwegian general who heads the island's peace monitoring mission to be sacked.
Diplomats' surprise
Mr Sirisena told the AFP news agency that the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe was trying to break up the country.
And as positions on the peace process polarised, one Tamil MP quit Mrs Kumaratunga's People's Alliance to join the Tamil National Alliance.
A Tamil Tiger near Trincomalee, where tension is high with Muslims
Diplomats on Friday expressed surprise at the president's call for Oslo, which is sponsoring the peace process, to withdraw Major-General Tryggve Tellefsen.
One Asian diplomat said: "We knew the president was unhappy but no one expected her to take a drastic step like this. This puts the Norwegians in a difficult position."
The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has not yet responded to Mrs Kumaratunga's demand.
She has long been critical of the way the peace process has been handled under Mr Wickramasinghe.
In May, her party branded Norway a nation of "salmon-eating busybodies".
The People's Alliance lost elections to Mr Wickramasinghe in December 2001.
Tensions are also continuing between Tamil and Muslim communities in some areas.
On Friday, a curfew imposed on a Muslim-dominated town in the east was extended until further notice.
The town of Kinniya near Trincomalee was the scene of angry demonstrations by Muslims on Thursday protesting against the alleged abduction of a Muslim farmer by Tamil Tiger activists earlier in the week.
The Tigers denied any involvement.
bbc