COLOMBO, July 18 (News Agencies) - Unidentified attackers bombed the offices of a Muslim party whose defection from the ruling coalition made President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government a minority in parliament, officials said on Wednesday.
Blasts ripped through the offices of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in the eastern town of Kalmunai, but there were no casualties because the building was empty at the time, the party said.
SLMC leader, Rauf Hakeem, blamed the bombing on pro-government elements and accused the Kumaratunga's People's Alliance of stirring up trouble in the region in a bid to pressure them to return to government.
"They have tried the carrot and are now using a stick to intimidate us," Hakeem said.
His defection from the government on June 20, along with those of his fellow SLMC MPs, turned the ruling coalition into a minority administration.
The Muslim leader said his party had been offered "various inducements" to rejoin the government but was taking a "principled stand".
"That is why the government has now resorted to attacking our people," Hakeem said.
The attack came a day after shops and schools re-opened in Kalmunai, where a three-day work stoppage was organized in protest to the alleged police killings of two Muslim students.
Hakeem said the students were shot dead by police in an unprovoked attack.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to Hakeem's allegation or to Wednesday's bomb attack in Kalmunai.
Earlier this month, the government allowed an 18-year-old state of emergency to lapse rather than risk losing the vote in parliament.
