President Kumaratunga narrowly escapes a suicide bomb attack with injuries, including the loss of one eye, during an election rally. The explosion killed 23 and injured 100 others.
Source
Blast rocks Sri Lankan rallies, BBC News, 18 December 1999; Sri Lankan suicide bomb kills 13, BBC News, 5 January 2000.
Quotation
“At this time 22 persons are reported dead and over one hundred injured. A second bomb attack the same night on an opposition election rally in Gampaha is reported to have killed 11 and injured 30 persons. … The bombings came after the recent release of captured Sri Lankan soldiers by the LTTE, which was not reciprocated by the government.” Democratic process essential for peace, National Peace Council, 19 December 1999.
