Chandrika fires 39 Lankan ministers

‘‘In view of the dissolution of Parliament, I have decided to remove all non-cabinet and deputy ministers by virtue of powers vested in me,’’ the spokesman quoted the President as saying in a statement. Letters were being sent to junior ministers informing them of their removal, he said. It is customary that when a government is dissolved, all non-cabinet rank ministers lose their authority. The removal is a formal move.

The political crisis erupted when the President took over three of Wickremesinghe’s ministries last November.

Later, Kumaratunga called for a fresh committee to discuss matters relating to the implementation of a ceasefire with Tamil Tigers which she had earlier described as illegal. Kumaratunga, who had described Wickremesinghe’s ceasefire with LTTE as an ‘‘illegal document’’ today vowed to uphold the truce, after meeting the new head of the Scandinavian Truce Monitoring Mission Trond Furuhovde.

She asked for the panel to be established for reviewing the ceasefire in place since February 2002.