Rajapakse sworn in as new President

Colombo: Mahinda Rajapakse was sworn is as new Sri Lankan President on Saturday.

Rajapakse narrowly beat main Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in a close-run poll on Thursday.

Minority Tamil voters who had been expected to oppose him stayed away after an apparent boycott by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"I want to achieve an honorable peace. I would like to reiterate my desire to engage in direct talks with the LTTE," he said.

As soon as the LTTE is ready to resume the stalled peace talks, the government would listen, he said, but made it clear that he wanted to redraw the 2002 ceasefire that halted two decades of fighting after the deaths of more than 64,000.

"The government is ready to review the ceasefire agreement. This process can start as soon as the relevant parties are ready. Human rights violations, such as child abduction and murder, that are happening despite the ceasefire must come to an end," he added.

Before the election, the LTTE had said that any attempt to amend the ceasefire terms could cause it to collapse completely, although they said they would not restart the war.

"It doesn't matter who is in power, the government is still bound by the ceasefire agreement," said Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir.

Undivided country

Observers said that the LTTE poll boycott, which saw burning barricades block checkpoints between rebel and government territory, had been aimed at stopping the more conciliatory Wickremesinghe gaining power and claiming a mandate from Tamil voters.

Rajapakse, Prime Minister under outgoing President Chandrika Kumaratunga, said the electorate had voted for a united country. Analysts say they doubt that the LTTE will ever compromise on their demand for a separate Tamil state.

"The overwhelming majority of the people said that the country should not be divided," he said.

His perceived left-wing stance has spooked markets, but analysts said overall the peace process would have more impact on the economy than pledges for farm subsidies and tax breaks.

The peace process is seen as being at its lowest ebb since the 2002 ceasefire, particularly after the August killing of Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister.

Grenade attacks and killings rose in the north and east ahead of the poll.

Some observers said this was intended to scare voters away, but the army said the region was now quiet after a pre-dawn grenade attack on a mosque on Friday that killed four.

"The key issue is the stability of the ceasefire and the peace process," said economist Amal Sanderatne, chief executive of Frontier Research.