Victim Of Peace

The man who is seeking re-election as Sri Lankas prime minister at April 2 polls halted an ethnic war raging for decades, but his handling of the peace process may have landed him in trouble.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, 55, has turned the vote into a referendum on his internationally-backed bid to secure a permanent peace deal with Tamil Tiger rebels after establishing a truce in place since February 2002.





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rn "The main issue at this election campaign is the peace process and the handling of the economy," Wickremesinghe said after unveiling a six-page document setting out his United National Partys program earlier this month.rn

rn President Chandrika Kumaratunga had accused him of risking national security and conceding too much to Tigers.

That was the basis for sacking the parliament controlled by him and calling polls four years ahead of schedule.

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rn "The president feared that if the prime minister succeeded in ending the conflict, it would have been impossible to defeat him for a long