Sri Lanka?s Prime minister has pledged to use his parliamentary majority to keep a peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels on track as his cabinet spokesman blasted the president yesterday for declaring a state of emergency.

The state of emergency, Tuesday?s firing of three powerful cabinet ministers and the suspension of parliament until November 19 were all announced by his arch-rival President, Chandrika Kumaratunga while Ranil Wickremesinghe was visiting Washington.

?This was a gross abuse of presidential power. It is a reckless action. There is no violence, no security situation and no valid, proper reason to declare a state of emergency?, cabinet spokesman G.L. Peiris told in a news conference.

The state of emergency, a draconian law that allows detention for up to one year without charge, widens Kumaratunga?s powers and those of the military.

Calm a day after the emergency

The capital, Colombo, was calm a day after Kumaratunga shocked the nation by declaring the emergency, with joggers out on the streets and traffic flowing normally.

But Peiris said the economic impact of the crisis was already being felt, with tourists beginning to cancel visits and investor confidence shaken.

Wickremesinghe?s return today is likely to raise the stakes with Kumaratunga, after the cabinet resolved to restore the defence, interior and media ministers and reconvene parliament.

The president?s actions also throw into question the direction of the peace process, with Kumaratunga saying the government had conceded too much to the Tigers since a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire was signed in February last year.

Buoyed by a White House meeting with President George W. Bush, the Prime minister said he would still have a majority when parliament reopened and vowed to push ahead with the peace bid.

?We have the majority in parliament and we?re going to get the peace process on track... I have a mandate to bring peace to the country?, he told reporters after meeting with Bush.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush had praised Wickremesinghe?s efforts to end the 20-year war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels (LTTE).

?Improper use of discretion?

?The president expressed his strong support for the prime minister?s leadership and his commitment to peace?, the US spokesman told reporters.

Kumaratunga, who is elected separately from the prime minister, has vast powers under the constitution, which she increased by declaring the emergency.

But Peiris said her actions showed an ?improper use of discretion? and the government?s majority would ensure their reversal when the legislature resumes sitting.

He said the government was going ahead with arrangements for a preliminary meeting with the Tigers, after the rebels released a proposal for power-sharing last weekend that the government said was a basis for fresh peace talks.

?The LTTE had indicated it would be prepared for such a meeting after November 27?, Peiris said, adding that Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, was expected in the island on Monday to help arrange the talks.

Residents of Jaffna peninsula, the cultural homeland of the minority Tamils, said they were concerned about the political turmoil.

?The people are worried because this happened so quickly, there is no confidence now?, said one resident, adding there had been some panic buying of petrol because of false rumours that the highway to the north had been closed.

The split between the president and prime minister has been looming since Wickremesinghe won parliamentary elections in late 2001. Kumaratunga accuses the Prime minister of being too soft on the rebels as he tries to end a war that has killed 64,000.

Lindsay Beck