Sri Lankan president's power grab backfires

[dArKeR]

WEAKER THAN EVER: The prime minister retained his parliamentary majority after his childhood playmate and main political rival tried to get his supporters to defect

AP , COLOMBO
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2003,Page 5

It began with an attempt by the president to reinforce her power: parliament was suspended, three powerful Cabinet ministers fired, a state of emergency declared. Small squads of soldiers were deployed to key positions in this seaside capital city.

But nearly a week after Sri Lanka was plunged into political crisis and its ever-fragile peace process made even more precarious, President Chandrika Kumaratunga appears to be weaker than ever.

Her political rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, was welcomed back from an overseas trip by thousands of ecstatic supporters, members of parliament refused to defect to her cause and the Tamil Tiger rebels -- a distant but powerful player in the country's politics -- made clear her moves were unacceptable. The president had hoped to gain a few more seats in parliament during the crisis, and was aggressively courting some of the prime minister's supporters to switch sides, observers say. But Wickremesinghe's two-seat majority stood firm.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/11/11/2003075424

[LeftistGorilla]

1. you play the game....

and you takes your chances...
too bad the lives of real people and the prospects of peace are involved....

[dArKeR]

2. Arroyo and Musharraf have The Bush Crime Family's junta blessing

that's why they have succeeded.