Lanka Prez says may extend term

A feud between Sri Lanka’s President and Prime Minister deepened on Tuesday with the President saying she may extend her term by a year. President Chandrika Kumaratunga and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe are divided over their approach to peace talks with the rebel Tamil Tigers, and have been openly feuding since Kumaratunga seized three ministries in November.

The President accuses Wickremesinghe of conceding too much to the Tigers in his bid to end the 20-year war. Kumaratunga said on state-owned TV on Tuesday that constitutionally her six-year term did not begin in late 1999, but a year later. ‘‘Its up to me to decide if I continue as President until 2006 or not,’’ Kumaratunga said.

She was injured in an attack just before the election, and said a 1999 swearing-in ceremony was performed to show that she was fit to hold office. The election was called a year early, and Kumaratunga said that constitutionally she did not have to begin her second and final six-year term until the first term ended. There was no comment from the government.—Reuters