Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993 TAG: 9305020156
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COLOMBO, SRI LANKA LENGTH: Medium
The assassination - eight days after a leading opposition politician was slain - threatened to plunge the war-wracked island nation into a political crisis. Premadasa held all important Cabinet posts, including the Ministry of Defense.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack, which injured at least 60 people. Police suspected Tamil rebels, who have often used suicide bombings against opponents and recently stepped up their anti-government campaign.
The Tamils' 10-year struggle to break away from the Sinhalese-dominated government has claimed more than 17,000 lives.
But Lawrence Thilakar, a Tamil Tiger spokesman in Paris, said the rebels "deny any responsibility" for the attack.
In the past, the group has issued similar denials for attacks it carried out.
Minutes before the blast, Premadasa was greeting people from atop a jeep and then got down to mingle with the crowd.
The assassin, who had explosives taped to his body, crashed his bicycle into Premadasa before detonating the bomb, state-run television reported. The president had been talking to his governing party activists when the bomb went off.
Among the victims were two top police officials escorting the 68-year-old president and a presidential aide. Several Cabinet ministers escaped unharmed as thousands of panicked people fled.
Premadasa's body was mangled. Other bodies lay in pools of blood.
One of Premadasa's top aides, Evans Cooray, had left the president's side moments before the blast to answer a telephone call.
"I looked around and saw some people thrown in the air," he said. "Others were lying on the ground."
Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was sworn in as interim president, and a curfew was imposed. The parliament must choose a new president within a month.
Hours after the assassination, the streets of the capital of 1 million people were deserted. Soldiers patrolled the roads and air force helicopters hovered overhead.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department advised Americans to avoid Sri Lanka for all but essential travel until further notice.
President Clinton called the assassination "a brutal act of terrorism" and praised Premadasa for working "tirelessly to promote his country's development and raise the standard of living of all Sri Lankans."
Premadasa rose to his country's highest office in 1989. He was popular for his anti-poverty programs.
A Tamil suicide bomber killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB