960402

Lankan opposition

blasts govt

over shootout

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's main opposition party on Tuesday accused the government of not permitting free speech after 14 people were wounded in a shootout at an election rally.

"This brings into question the commitment of the People's Alliance government to allow public meetings and free speech," United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told a news conference.

Five supporters of the UNP and nine from the ruling People's Alliance were wounded on Monday when unidentified gunmen opened fire after the two groups clashed in the town of Anamaduwa, 120 km (75 miles) north of Colombo.

Monday's violence did not augur well for President Chandrika Kumaratunga's coalition government, which has to call local government elections by June, analysts said.

"If this is a sign of pre-election violence, then I think we have a lot more of it coming," one analyst said.

The shooting took place after alliance supporters forced their way into an area where UNP supporters were preparing for a meeting. Two men climbed on to the roof of a nearby building and began firing at the crowd, Wickremesinghe said.

"We did not want any incidents but our security people were forced to fire back," Wickremesinghe said. "This situation has been building up for the past week. The police have taken no action to protect our supporters," Wickremesinghe said.

UNP supporters in the central Matale district too have complained to Kumaratunga of violence and harassment.

Government supporters on March 15 set fires along the path of a UNP procession, burnt vehicles and wounded a politician from the area, Matale's mayor Ranjith Aluvihare told Kumaratunga in a letter.

The UNP's 17-year reign was ended by Kumaratunga's alliance in late 1994. It currently holds 85 seats in Sri Lanka's 225-seat parliament.

Kumaratunga needs UNP support for parliamentary passage of her peace plan offering substantial devolution to minority Tamils and aimed at ending the island's 13-year ethnic war.-Reuter