Tigers demand lifting of emergency

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said talks with the government to strengthen the ceasefire would be meaningless while emergency laws are in operation that give police far broader search and arrest powers.

President Chandrika Kumaratu-nga ordered the state of emergency after foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was killed by suspected rebels on August 12.

The LTTE has denied any role in the murder and says the sweeping powers given to police and security forces target the Tamil minority.

"If the state of emergency is to continue for long ... one foresees a tragic situation in which even direct talks may not be of any use," said the LTTE's official publication, the Viduthalaippuligal, or Liberation Tiger.

"It is therefore the yearning of all peace-loving people that the emergency should be lifted, and lifted immediately."

Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway is currently talking to the government and the rebels to arrange a face-to-face meeting to review a ceasefire in place since February 23, 2002.

Peace talks have remained on hold since April 2003 after six rounds of inconclusive talks. More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's drawn-out conflict since 1972.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday vowed a "free and fair election" in the conflict-torn island state after the Supreme Court last week ruled that her 11-year reign ends this year.

"The president's fervent wish is that the election campaign should focus on the issues and challenges that lie ahead and that we ensure a shared future, together, as a nation of diverse peoples," her office said in a statement.

Kumaratunga pledged that the elections, which have to be held between October 22 and November 21, will be orderly despite heightened security fears amid a shaky ceasefire with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

She also said she was committed to ensuring a "free and fair election".

"The difficult security situation in the country and the deterioration in the ceasefire arrangements in the north and east need to be addressed urgently," said the statement, referring to Tamil strongholds areas.

On Friday, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ruled that Kumaratunga's term ends in December -- rejecting her argument that because she served just five years during her first term, she was entitled to extend her second term by a year.

The main opposition United National Party, led by former premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, and other groups welcomed the ruling.

"We have to now ensure there are free and fair elections," said Wickremesinghe, who lost the post of prime minister in 2004 and is expected to run for president in the upcoming vote.