Sri Lanka nationalist group accuses president of going soft on Tigers

A majority Sinhalese nationalist group backed by the main coalition partner of Sri Lankan President 's government has accused the president of going soft on the Tamil Tigers.

In a statement released Saturday, the Patriotic National Movement (PNM) urged President Chandrika Kumaratunga to take action to prevent assassinations carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

The PNM said the LTTE main stream group had eliminated around 90 high-level members belonging to the renegade commander Karuna since he broke ranks with them in March last year.

The Tigers have also killed over 50 other people, activists of rival political groups including civilians, the PNM alleged.

Escalation of violence in the eastern region prompted Kumaratunga to appoint a two-member committee to look into incidents of continued violence.

The Tigers suffered the loss of a few key personnel between February and March including its senior eastern political leader at the hands of renegade group.

The PNM called for the president to take swift action in order to prevent violence by the LTTE's mainstream group.

"Unless the president took action to change the course of events the government forces would also be held responsible for the violence," said the PNM.

Violence in the eastern province exacerbated by internecine clashes among the rebels is one of main reasons for the delay in resuming the stalled peace negotiations.

Analysts said the PNM is being backed by the JVP or the People's Liberation Front who is the main partner in Sri Lankan president 's ruling coalition.

The JVP has dubbed the Norwegian backed peace process a sellout to the Tamil Tigers and the ongoing cease-fire agreement a mechanism to curb the strength of security forces in combating LTTE terrorism.