Colombo, Aug 11: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga used her executive powers to halt a probe into the import of over 50 high-powered bullet-proof limousines under her former government, her office said today. The President's office admitted that the vehicles had been imported without following the strict tender procedures at a time when her party was in power, but refused to cooperate with a probe ordered by the new government. Trade minister Ravi Karunanayake has said that the treasury was forced to spend more than $ 25 million to import the cars, including 18 bullet-proof BMWs, but the vehicles could not be traced after the December polls.
In a three-page statement, Kumaratunga's office said that the Constitution prevented the President from being subjected to any probe or inquiry and she was not obliged to subject herself to scrutiny by a cabinet panel. "The objective of the cabinet subcommittee is to maliciously slander the president," the statement said, adding that Kumaratunga will no longer spend a "single minute" to answer allegations against her.
She argued that the vehicles were imported for her use as well as those of her key ministers as protection against assassinations. Kumaratunga was wounded in a 1999 assassination attempt by Tamil Tiger rebels.
She enjoys sweeping immunity against prosecution, but her immunity ends when she leaves office and can be subjected to investigations even for her actions when she was president.
Some of the BMWs had been imported from Hong Kong and Jakarta.
Bureau Report