Colombo, Sri Lanka ? Sri Lanka’s president, seeking to justify the political crisis she set off earlier this week, said Friday the prime minister had put the country “in grave danger” in negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga relentlessly attacked her rival’s policies in her speech — though she concluded her appearance by calling for a government of national unity.

The speech, which was repeatedly postponed Friday and finally broadcast live nearly 10 hours later than originally scheduled, made clear the political upheaval was far from over, and that the already-fragile peace process remained in jeopardy.

It came hours after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe returned home from an official visit to the United States to a raucous welcome, with more than 7,000 supporters crowding into Colombo’s airport, and thousands more jamming the streets as his motorcade headed into town.

During the prime minister’s trip to Washington to meet with President Bush, Kumaratunga fired three of Wickremesinghe’s most powerful supporters from the Cabinet, suspended Parliament and declared a state of emergency.

Then, early Friday, Kumara-tunga canceled the state of emergency decree — but officials said she was preparing a new, milder measure to boost the power of the armed forces, which fall under her control.

“The sovereignty of the state of Sri Lanka, its territorial integrity and the security of the nation have been placed in grave danger,” by the Wickremesinghe government, Kumaratunga said.

Wickremesinghe, for his part, insisted he had not been defeated by his longtime rival, the president.