Colombo, June 17: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for a probe into the sinking of a Tamil Tiger merchant vessel amid conflicting claims of the incident. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the Sri Lankan Navy had sunk one of its vessels, which had 12 crewmembers on board, on Saturday although the Navy maintained that an onboard explosion caused the sinking.
However, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is the commander-in-chief of armed forces, in a statement Saturday said that the Navy had sunk the rebel ship contrary to the defence ministry version of the incident. President Kumaratunga had granted a lengthy three-year extension to the Navy chief who is believed to have coordinated Saturday's naval engagement from Hawai where he had travelled on official business.
Wickremesinghe, who met with his ministers at Parliament today, said the defence authorities had not been aware of the sinking until after the event. "The Prime Minister said the government was investigating the circumstances of the sinking," Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.
Kumaratunga is opposed to her cohabitation government's handling of the Norwegian-backed peace process and has accused the Prime Minister of granting too many concessions to the LTTE.
The peace talks between the Tigers and the government have been on hold since April. The LTTE pulled out after accusing the government of not delivering on promises made during six rounds of negotiations. Bureau Report