Chandrika gets her second term

COLOMBO, DECEMBER 22: Kumaratunga was today sworn in as Sri Lanka's president for the second consecutive term, immediately after she was r...

COLOMBO, DECEMBER 22: Kumaratunga was today sworn in as Sri Lanka8217;s president for the second consecutive term, immediately after she was re-elected to office riding on the crest of a sympathy wave following an abortive assassination attempt by the LTTE, and made a fervent plea to militant cadres to prevail upon their leader V Prabhakran to return to the negotiating table quot;without further delayquot;.

Kumaratunga, 54, who still sported a bandaged eye wounded in Saturday8217;s LTTE suicide bomb attack on her in the run-up to the polls, was sworn in by Chief Justice Sarath N Desilva at a hastily arranged ceremony at her official residence here. Immediately afterwards, she reconstituted her cabinet.

Prime Minister and Kumaratunga8217;s mother Sirimavo Bandaranaike was conspicuous by her absence at the function.

In an emotional speech afterwards, Kumaratunga, who bagged a little more than 51.21 per cent of votes, well down from the record 62 per cent of the 1994 polls, extended an invitation to opposition presidential contender Ranil Wickremesinghe, to work for a consensus to solve the ethnic conflict in the country. Wickremesinghe of the United National Party could only manage 43 per cent of the votes.

quot;I stretch out my hand to join this government, both you and your supporters,quot; she said urging the opposition leader to fulfil his commitments made in this regard.

Kumaratunga, pledged to work for peace, her main poll plank, and appealed to the country8217;s Tamil minority to reject the LTTE and quot;the violence and hatred they stand forquot; and prevail upon it to return to peace talks.

quot;You must see the light of peace. I urge you to use every ounce of the influence at your disposal to bring Prabhakaran to the negotiating table without any further delay. I urge you to persuade with every conceivable argument, anyone who is a supporter of the LTTE to renounce violence and join us in establishing peace,quot; she said wiping away tears.

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Earlier, Wickremesinghe struck a conciliatory approach when he met the election commissioner in a televised ceremony. He refrained from making any allegations and only drew the latter8217;s attention to allegations of electoral malpractices made by other parties.

New Delhi:

Meanwhile, President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today felicitated Chandrika on her re-election and emphasised on rooting out terrorism through joint bilateral, regional and international efforts.

In a congratulatory message to her, the President said, quot;our relations are based on the strong foundation of trust and confidence and on mutuality of benefit.

quot;I am confident that our two countries, which have common concerns and intersts, will work together in achieving our shared objective of betterment of our peoples,quot; he said.