Chandrika’s suicide bomber identified

Meanwhile, ruling out forming a `national government’ with the opposition UNP, President Kumaratunga has offered peace talks with LTTE leader V Prabhakaran toend the ethnic war though she said she "detested" him for his attempts to assassinate here.

In a widely publicised interview on state TV and radio networks in Sinhala language last night, she said she `detested’ the LTTE leader because "he is a rakshas (demon) attempting to conquer the world through violence and terror". But she was willing to negotiate with him for the sake of achieving lasting peace in the island. She virtually ruled out speculation of forming a national government with the UNP by alleging that the latter had entered into a "secret pact" with the rebel leader to defeat her in the December 21 presidential polls. Repeating her post-elections charge against the UNP, Kumaratunga alleged that a section of the army cooperated with the `UNP-LTTE alliance" to engineer a humiliating defeat of the army in the northern Vanni just weeks ahead of the polls.

She claimed that her government had already obtained evidence of conspiracy hatched by Maj Gen Gunasekera and Brig Bohoran, in charge ofarmy’s Vanni command with a retired Maj Gen Lucky Algama, who had joined the UNP. Maj Gen Gunesekara and Brig Bohoran were sent on compulsory leave pending inquiry, while Maj Gen Algama, UNP’s choice for the defence minister’s slot, was killed by a LTTE suicide bomber at an UNP election rally three days before elections.

She also charged that a UNP MP, Jayalath Jayawardene, was in touch with Paris-based LTTE leader Lawrence Tilagar and passed on messages to Wickremesinghe.

Chandrika devoted the best part of her interview to explain her political beliefs, principles and policies to the people.

Unlike her first interview after the blast where she struck a reconciliatory tone to work with both the UNP and the LTTE to reach out a political settlement, Chandrika consistently attacked the two for attempting to kill her during the presidential poll campaigning.

She said after failing in the assassination bid, the LTTE openly canvassed for Wickremesinghe in north-eastern areas.

Holding the LTTE squarelyresponsible for the suicide bomb attack, she said: “After they failed to kill me on December 18, they went village to village telling people that I suffered a brain damage. Also the LTTE used tractors and buses to transport people to polling booths asking them to vote for Wickramasinghe."

Explaining the reasons for Tamils overwhelmingly voting against her in the presidential polls, she said, "Tamils in the north and east except Jaffna voted for the UNP largely in fear of the LTTE who had warned them against me."