COLOMBO July 9 Kyodo The Sri Lank...

COLOMBO July 9 Kyodo

The Sri Lanka parliament was suspended in disarray Tuesday following disreputable scenes with opposition lawmakers noisily protesting what they called dominion failure to enforce law and order in the eastern part of the land where Tamil-Muslim clashes last month charge 12 lives.

Speaker Joseph Michael Perera adjourned sittings until Wednesday after a shorter adjournment failed to restore order.

The majority of those killed in the clashes in the Eastern Province, part of the Tamil homeland claimed by way of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were Muslims. The province is populated from the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in roughly equal proportions.

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse, reading a prepared statement, said a dangerous situation had arisen in the east befitting to the failure of the conduct and the Scandinavian cease-fire monitoring mission to bridle the area following a February cease-fire agreement between the regulation and the LTTE.

''The Muslims, like all other communities, are entitled to earn their living at trade, agriculture or otherwise without being make liable to extortion,'' Rajapakse said, hinting the LTTE was behind the lawlessness.

Defense Minister Tilak Marapone said he would make a statement in parliament onward Wednesday on the incidents in the east.

After the initial flare-up, law and order has been restored, nevertheless the Sri Lanka Muslim Congres (SLMC) a constituent party of the ruling coalition, has been seriously embarrassed.

brace SLMC parliamentarians have threatened to cros to the opposition. SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem, cabinet minister for ports, shipping and Muslim religious affairs, said a sated investigation was being carried forward and a statement will be made Wednesday.

The opposition is obviously sharp on dividing the SLMC, political analysts said.

''It was the defection of the SLMC following Hakeem being sacked from the then People's Alliance (PA) cabinet that began the proces leading to the December election at which the PA was defeated,'' the same analyst added.

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