Sri Lanka's government said Tuesday that Tamil Tiger rebels had dispatched suicide bombers to assassinate officials and take advantage of the country's political turmoil.
But the opposition quickly denounced the warning as government propaganda.
"Suicide bombers with instructions to assassinate political leaders and military commanders have been sent to Colombo and suburbs to take advantage of the present political situation," the government's Special Media Information Center said.
In a statement issued in Sinhalese, it said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas were trying to capitalize on the political crisis, but gave no details of how the authorities uncovered the plan.
The government statement came two days before opposition parties were due to bring large numbers of supporters into Colombo to pressure the government to step down after losing its parliamentary majority on June 20.
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) described the government statement as a blatant attempt to strike fear and discourage people from attending the mass rally, set to converge on the city from six main access routes to the capital.
"It is not going to be a UNP rally alone," a party spokesman said. "Several others, including trade unions and professional bodies, will also take part in this exercise."
Last week, President Chandrika Kumaratunga shut down parliament for two months in an apparent bid to stave off a near certain defeat of her minority government in a no-confidence vote.
The opposition has accused Kumaratunga of moving towards a dictatorship and called for her impeachment after legislators were blocked from entering the parliament building.
Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who defied the suspension of the assembly by leading MPs into the barricaded parliament building Monday, said he expected the impeachment to be ready in two weeks.
"She has qualified for impeachment by shutting down parliament in an undemocratic and dictatorial move," Wickremesinghe said.
The UNP, which Wickremesinghe heads, met Tuesday with parliamentary leaders to press for legal action against police who prevented parliamentarians from travelling to the assembly.
Parliamentary Speaker Anura Bandaranaike agreed to appoint a one-man commission to investigate the police action that prevented legislators from travelling to the parliament building -- COLOMBO (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
