Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Sunday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of assassinating her foreign minister -- whose death has rekindled fears of a return to civil war, according to Reuters. The government declared a state of emergency after Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot by a sniper as he emerged from his swimming pool on Friday. More than 1,000 police and troops hunted for the killers and soldiers checked cars entering or leaving the city. The killing has plunged Sri Lanka's protracted peace process into its worst crisis since a 2002 ceasefire in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) two-decade war for self-rule. "Lakshman Kadirgamar joins a long list of distinguished Tamil leaders ... who were murdered by the LTTE," Kumaratunga, dressed in white, the traditional colour of mourning, said in a televised address to the nation. "This violation of the ceasefire is the latest in a continuous series of violations by the LTTE," she said. "I have taken many steps to ensure national security after the killing, but will that be enough?" she added. "We must get the international community to pressure the LTTE to stop these killings," Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told reporters as most of the 15 parties in parliament issued a statement blaming the Tigers for the murder.
