NEWS TODAY

Four killed by unidentified gunmen in Sri Lankan capital, police say

The bound and gagged bodies of a tea trader and his three colleagues were found shot dead in the Sri Lankan capital on Saturday, with police saying they could have been killed over a business dispute. The men belonged to Sri Lanka's Muslim minority, and were believed to have been killed elsewhere and then dumped in a luxury jeep along a quiet but plush street in the city, said Sarath Kumara, a senior police official at the scene.``Initial investigations reveal that the victims were a tea-trading businessman and his three colleagues,'' Kumara said. He said the killings may be linked to a business dispute but didn't rule out Tamil Tiger rebel involvement. The police anti-crime unit spotted the abandoned vehicle while patrolling the area, he said, as he inspected the jeep's blood-soaked back seats. Armed police and soldiers cordoned off the scene and investigations are continuing.

Kumara said there was a possible link between one of the victims and a complaint lodged Friday about the abduction of a person from Sri Lanka's central city of Kandy.``It's dreadful how these killings can take place under your very nose,'' said Malcolm de Silva, a resident in the area. He said he was unaware of the murders until he stepped outside to pickup the morning newspapers. Violence has increased in Sri Lanka in recent months, mostly connected to a split in the Tiger rebel group last year and underworld gang violence.

"We failed in our duty," Government's main Muslim ally admits"

The Government's main Muslim ally, National Unity Alliance (NUA), yesterday admitted that it had failed in its duty of securing the Muslim aspirations in the controversial Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure deal. NUA Vice President and Spokesman Abul Kalaam told the Lanka Academic that, "We admit that we have failed in our task. But it is not only us, but all other Muslim political parties including the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which received the mandate have failed in this endeavour." He however noted that his party had still not taken an official decision of leaving the United Peoples Freedom Alliance Government. The NUA has been having a series of meetings in Ampara with its supporters, since the P-TOMS agreement was signed. Many issues including the party's future course of action was taken up at these meetings, sources said. The NUA member announced late last month soon after the P-TOMS was sealed that it will not make 'hasty decisions like the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna', but instead will try to reach an amicable settlement with President Chandrika Kumaratunga in giving due place to the Muslim aspirations in the tsunami aid deal.

"Pulling out of the Government is not going to solve all the problems. But, in the event nothing positive works out, we will most likely pull out of the Government. Yet we are trying to work out things while staying within the Government," A NUA member reportedly said. The Muslim community was the worst affected (41%) due to the December 26th catastrophe. The community has expressed their anxiety with regard to the impartiality of aid distribution among the tsunami victims. The Muslims demanded that they be accommodated as equal partners to the P-TOMS deal, and be a signatory to it, a request not accommodated by those concerned.