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Lankan opposition decries emergency rule

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) on Saturday denounced a national state of emergency, saying the government merely wanted to postpone local elections scheduled for June.

In a statement, it described the emergency as the beginning of "misrule and suppression."

The government extended the state of emergency nationwide on Monday because of what it said were Tamil Tiger rebel plans to stage attacks. It said it wanted to stagger the polls, allowing the deployment of adequate security.

The state of emergency has already been in effect in Colombo and the north and east for a year, giving police and armed forces wide powers of arrest and detention.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are fighting for a homeland in the north and east and have stepped up attacks on economic targets in the capital.

On January 31, the Tigers blew up the Central Bank, killing almost 100 people. At dawn on Friday, navy patrols sank two Tiger boats that raced into Colombo port firing at ships indiscriminately.-Reuter