PAYING HOMAGE: The body of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar lies in state at his official residence in Colombo on Saturday. He was shot dead by unknown assailants late on Friday. — PHOTO: AP

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Government on Saturday declared a state of emergency to track down the assassins of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, who was shot dead here on Friday night. The Government described it as a "preventive measure" in the immediate aftermath of the assassination.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who condemned the "act of terror," described Mr. Kadirgamar as "a hero of our times" and said her Government "will not be bowed by such heinous acts of violence."

A day after the assassination no arrests were made, but Inspector-General of Police Chandra Fernando told journalists that evidence available and the weapons brought by the assassins pointed to the involvement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. "Looking at the weapons used and the style, it is definitely the work of the LTTE. There is no other group with weapons like this," he said.

The IGP's assertion came on the heels of a report on the TamilNet web site, in which the LTTE's political wing leader, S.P. Tamilselvan, denied the involvement of the Tigers.

But the Government said the denial was unacceptable. "The Government finds it difficult to accept the denial," Cabinet spokesman Nimal Siripala de Silva told a press conference here. The Government said the assassination was "clearly a violation of the ceasefire agreement."

On the impact of the assassination on possible resumption of peace talks, the head of the Government Peace Secretariat, Jayantha Dhanapala, said it was going to be "very seriously undermined as a consequence of this development."

"We have to accept that it is a grave setback to the peace process," Mr. De Silva added. "Steps are being taken to arrest the perpetrators and other LTTE suspects." Outlining the Government's position, he said: "The status of the ceasefire agreement will continue."

Giving details of the assassination, the IGP said the sniper had struck from a toilet in a house next to the private residence of Mr. Kadirgamar. The police recovered a tripod used to mount a long-range rifle and found a "hole made in the window through which Mr. Kadirgamar's swimming pool can be seen."

Mr. Kadirgamar was shot around 11 p.m. after he finished a swim. He sustained three bullet injuries and was rushed to the Colombo National Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 0015 hours on Saturday.

The IGP declined to give details of the house which was used by the assassins, but said the police found spent 7.62-mm cartridges fired from a long-range rifle and an unused 40-mm grenade launcher at the scene of crime. Though the tripod was found the killer weapon was missing.

Over 1,000 policemen were deployed on Friday night to search for the weapon and the assassins.

Mr. Fernando said the evidence also showed that the LTTE had maintained continuous vigil as cheese, biscuits and snack packets were found at the place from where the sniper struck.

The police were unable to say how many assassins were involved. "Maybe one, maybe two, most likely two," the IGP said in reply to a question. The investigations, he said, are "very, very successful at the moment."

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