Upheaval within Sri Lankan Government

On the eve of a cabinet reshuffle, four senior Sri Lankan ministers resigned yesterday, refusing to be part of a Government propped up by a Marxist party they claim could not address the Tamil separatist issue.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga's cabinet shake-up was also expected to include a drastic reduction in the number of ministers, a move demanded by her new ally, The People's Liberation Front.

The Government, reduced to a minority after defections, entered into a pact with the Marxist party on September 5 to counter a possible Opposition-sponsored no-confidence vote. The People's Liberation Front wants Kumaratunga to prune the 44-member Cabinet to 20 and put on hold any peace talk with Tamil rebels for a year.