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Lankan minister asks govt to extend emergency

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister asked parliament to extend the state of national emergency by a month on Thursday citing recent bomb blasts in the capital.

The debate comes a day after a woman suicide bomber, a member of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, blew herself up in front of the prime minister's office killing at least 13 people.

"Several key figures in the political arena have become the targets of the (LTTE) terrorists," Anuruddha Ratwatte told parliament.

He cited the attack on December 18, when a woman suicide bomber triggered an explosion at an election rally led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga which killed at least 26 people, saying the state of emergency should be extended to maintain law and order, public security and preserve public property.

He also spoke of a second bomb that exploded the same day at a meeting of Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party in a Colombo suburb. At least eight people were killed.

This is a routine debate, as the government needs parliament approval every month to keep the state of emergency going. If voted through, it will extend powers to the security forces to interrogate and detain people suspected of having links with the LTTE.

On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a prominent Tamil politician and lawyer, Kumar Ponnambalam, in the Tamil-dominated Colombo suburb of Wellawatte.

The LTTE rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east since 1983.

The extension of emergency regulations is likely to be passed since the government has the required number of votes in parliament.-Reuters