November 12, 2003	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1424

PARIS, Nov 11: Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has been handed the task of attempting to defuse the “negative fallout abroad” of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s decision last week to declare a state of emergency, suspend parliament and also sack three important ministers.

The decision to give the special assignment to Kadirgamar came in the wake of the “latching by the international media following reports of the declaration of a state of emergency in Sri Lanka,” the country’s leading English-language daily The Island reported.

Mr Wickremesinghe, who was in Washington for a meeting with President George Bush at the time of President Kumaratunga’s decision to exercise tighter control over the country’s governmental media, was accused by the Sri Lankan head of state of having made too many concessions to separatist Tamils who are attempting to work out a peace plan with the country’s majority Sinhalese.

Already Mr Kadirgamar has been in touch with such media as Skynews and BBC whom he’s told in interviews, said The Island newspaper, that “there was really no emergency, and the media hype that there was one, affecting tourism, was totally wrong.”

Mr Kadirgamar also said he “had the authority” of the British High Commissioner in Colombo to say that no travel advisory had been issued by his government against visiting Sri Lanka.