Lankan Prez Rajapaksa appoints 52-member cabinet

Colombo, Jan 28: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today administered the oath of office to the 51-member cabinet, which also includes 18 prominent parliamentarians of the main opposition United National Party (UNP).

Minister of Justice Hon Amarasiri Dodangoda did not participate in the oath taking ceremony.

''The new Cabinet Ministers took their oath today before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Assembly Hall of the Presidential Secretariat in the first Cabinet reshuffle since the President took office in November 2005'', the President's office said in a statement.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC)leader Rauf Hakeem has been sworn in as the Minister of Post and Telecommunications. A key Sri Lankan Muslim party has five members in Parliament.

The list of the ministers without cabinet status and name of the deputy minister is yet to be released.

In the maiden cabinet reshuffle, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has been removed from the Foreign Ministry and will now continue with his other portfolios as the Minister of Ports and Airport Aviation.

The new Foreign Minister is former UNP member, Rahitha Bogollagama, who was a spokesman for the government's peace delegation.

The UNP rebel group led by former deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya and comprising senior members like Milinda Moragoda, Prof GL Peiris and Dr Rajitha Senaratne, have been revolting against the party leadership after its defeat in the Presidential elections and are among those who were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers today.

Karu Jayasuriya was sworn as the Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs, Milinda Moragada has been appointed Minister of Tourism, Prof GL Peiris as Minister of Export Development and International Trade while Dr Rajitha Senaratne has been sworn in as Minister of Construction and Engineering Services.

President Rajapaksa has inducted rebel UNP MPs into his government despite warnings by the UNP leadership that such a move would seriously jeopardise the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ruling coalition and the Main Opposition on working together in and out of Parliament on five national issues, including the resolution of the ethnic conflict, and furthering economic development and good governance.

The major coalition partner of the Rajapaksa government, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also warned it would reconsider its support to the government if MPs from its political arch rival, the UNP were inducted into the government.

The Rajapaksa government has 135 seats (including the JVP's 38 seats) in the 225-member Parliament and with the induction of 18 UNP rebel MPs, the government will now command a two-third majority in the house.

However, if the JVP withdraws its support, the ruling coalition will still command a simple majority.

At least six UNP MPs are holding ministerial portfolios. The Indian Origin Tamil parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) and the Up-country People's Front (UPF) and the nine-member Buddhist-monk radical Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) have also already extended support to the government.

UNI