National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa said that Common Presidential Candidate General Sarath Fonseka should be arrested immediately without allowing him to leave the country.
Weerawansa made this statement at a press conference held at the NFF headquarters on Friday (29) morning.
Weerawansa called on the government and the President to arrest General Fonseka without allowing him to leave the country as he could continue to make more statements that would betray the nation like he did during the Presidential election campaign.
By Kshanika Argent - Former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, speaking at a press briefing a short while ago, warned that he will expose government secrets should anything happen to him and demanded that the government stop harassing him.
The former Army Commander said that he has filed detailed documents in which he has listed malpractices of government officials who have been harassing him since he decided to run for President.
General Fonseka said, “If anything should happen to me I’ve given evidence concerning those people who have been threatening my life and evidence ofmass scale rigging at the elections.”
The General added that recent developments involving his office premises raided by the STF, his security 'reduced to zero’ and officials close to him either arrested, sacked or harassed, lead to the conclusion that the Government is preparing for his assassination.
He added, “Ninety soldiers were replaced by 4 policemen armed only with pistols. Close associates of mine, who are legally retired from the army have been arrested including 3 generals, 3 brigadiers and 2 colonels today, one of whom the government says is connected to Lasantha’s (Wickrematunge) murder. This is a blatant lie. Twenty staff members from my office were remanded yesterday and the CID confiscated 23 computers and they had no search or arrest warrants on them at the time.”
The General also declared that all law and order in the country has broken down. He said, “You can’t go to the police or the courts. You can be arrested at any time. There’s no media freedom. Everyone is under pressure and cannot carry out their rightful duties.”
On whether the General plans to flee the country he stated, “I have no plans of leaving at this moment. I want to stay and represent the people. If I need to hide in order to survive that’s a different matter. But in any case, I can’t leave the country and neither can my family, we’ve all been blacklisted at the airport, myself, my wife and now my two daughters who study abroad.”
As for the allegations leveled on the General of planning an assassination attack on President Mahinda Rajapakse, the General said, “We stayed at the Cinnamon Lakeside for our own protection, booking 20 rooms on the 2nd floor after we received news that there was going to be an assassination on either the opposition leader or myself. The government is now trying to twist that story, they say whatever pops into their heads without any thought and their stories don’t even match.”
When contacted by Daily Mirror online, Defense Affairs Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella stated, “I don’t think anyone can take him (Fonseka) seriously considering he’s not even a registered voter. A man who talks about discipline and good governance who is not even registered to vote has clearly forgotten his franchise.”
US has said it is in touch with the defeated Sri Lankan Opposition Presidential candidate over the issue of his security which was withdrawn on Thursday and has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to move towards a political reconciliation.
"We are watching carefully and we have been in touch with General Fonseka regarding his security", US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said in Washington.
On the fears expressed by the defeated candidate, Crowley said, "Well, he had expressed public concerns and I think the (US) Embassy (in Colombo) reached out to him and just remain– we'll remain in contact with him to clarify what his future intentions are and to be helpful if that's appropriate".
On whether Fonseka had a US residency, Crowley said "Yes, he does". The US Official said the Sri Lankan President should move towards a political reconciliation after his victory.
"But we think that President Rajapaksa now has an opportunity to continue to move forward with the political reconciliation and start the process of devolution to the provinces" Crowley said.
"He (Fonseka) feels threatened that he could get arrested on false charges of planning a coup", his close aide told PTI here.
"It is important that the former army chief's security is reinstated as the 72 security personnel who guarded him are the ones whom Fonseka fully trusts and they are necessary for his security", the aide said.
"They (the security guarding him) have been with him for years and he wants them back", the aide said.
The army has maintained that Fonseka's security cover was withdrawn after the Supreme Court ruled that the former army chief would get army protection only till the Presidential elections that ended on January 27 after the declaration of the results.
Secretary Crowley welcomed the steps Rajapaksa has taken towards political reconciliation process and noted that the election itself was a step forward. "So with this election comes an opportunity to continue to work to heal the breach that exists within Sri Lankan society," the Assistant Secretary said.
"And I think we commend the people of Sri Lanka for a 72 per cent turnout. That is something that is truly remarkable", he said.
"I think it's important to recognise that this was the first nationwide election in decades," Crowley said, adding that the participation was high, the process was generally peaceful, though there were incidents of violence which the US was very aware of.
"I think it is remarkable when you consider what Sri Lanka has come through recently. There is a process for resolving electoral disputes. We're obviously aware that there have been claims of victory and counterclaims," Crowley said.
The officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who broke into "Irida Lanka" newspaper office in the early hours of Saturday (30) have now sealed off the newspaper office a short while ago – at around 14.00.p.m Sri Lanka time. Before closing down the office, the CID officers have questioned everyone inside the office, while preventing anyone from outside visiting the office.
In the aftermath of the presidential election, the Sri Lankan government has launched an all out war against all the media who backed the candidacy of former Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka. The decision to seal off "Irida Lanka" follows the earlier action taken by the government to close down another pro-opposition website "Lanka E News" on Thursday (28) evening. The arrested editor of "Irida Lanka", Chandana Sirimalwatte, is still being held in CID custody.
The Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka appeals to all the responsible governments and rights groups to act without delay and to exert maximum pressure on the Sri Lankan government demanding an immediate halt to the unprecedented repressive onslaught launched against dissenting media.
Please make phone calls and send emails to:
The President of Sri Lanka - + 94 112447400/ email -president@presidentsoffice.lk
Secretary to the President - +94 112 2326309 / email - prsec@presidentsoffice.lk
Minister of Information Anura Yapa - + 94 0773 814470 (mobile) / +94 112596557 (Office)
Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya - +94 112 421750 / +94 773088400 email - igp@police.lk
Spokesman Mr. Nimal Madiwake (Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police) - +94 72 2248235
Officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who had previously arrested the editor of the "Irida Lanka" newspaper, Chandana Sirimalwatte, have tried to break into his residence a short while ago. According to initial reports, the officers who had visited his residence tried to search the premises without a search warrant. But the wife of the journalist had refused to grant permission since the officers failed to produce a valid search warrant. She has given her protest in writing to the officers.
In the meantime, another group of CID officers have raided the "Irida Lanka" newspaper office on Saturday (30) morning for the second time, after sealing off the premises to visitors. Earlier on Friday (29) afternoon, following the arrest of the editor, the CID broke into "Irida Lanka" office and had searched the premises extensively. They had brought the arrested journalist along with them and had forced him to hand over files that contain sensitive information. According to our sources, the second CID raid is still going on and the officers are questioning every staff member despite their protest.
Notwithstanding the repeated condemnations issued by international media rights groups in the wake of the fresh intimidation campaign, it is obvious that the Sri Lankan government is determined to continue their extremely coercive policy of cracking down on the dissenting media. The journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka urge all the responsible governments and rights group with utmost urgency to demand an immediate stop to the increasing harassment unleashed against "Irida Lanka" and to release it's editor Chandana Sirimalwatte immediately.
Please make phone calls and send emails to:
The President of Sri Lanka - + 94 112447400/ email -president@presidentsoffice.lk
Secretary to the President - +94 112 2326309 / email - prsec@presidentsoffice.lk
Minister of Information Anura Yapa - + 94 0773 814470 (mobile) / +94 112596557 (Office)
Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya - +94 112 421750 / +94 773088400 email - igp@police.lk
Spokesman Mr. Nimal Madiwake (Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police) - +94 72 2248235
The police raided the office of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate on Friday and arrested 15 of his staff members, after officials accused him of plotting to overthrow the government and assassinate his victorious rival.
The candidate, Sarath Fonseka, a general who carried out the successful military operation against the Tamil Tiger insurgency last year, called the allegations fabricated and vowed to challenge President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party in coming parliamentary elections.
The two men were close allies when they crushed the rebels last year, but had a falling out after the war ended in May. General Fonseka joined the opposition to run against the president, with both sides campaigning on their record as heroes who ended the 26-year separatist rebellion.
Mr. Rajapaksa swept to a resounding victory in Tuesday’s vote, beating the former army chief by 17 percentage points. But General Fonseka rejected the results and accused the government of stealing more than one million of his votes during the tallying process.
The government denied this, and in turn accused General Fonseka of plotting to kill Mr. Rajapaksa and overthrow the government with the help of army deserters and former military officers.
Dozens of police officers raided General Fonseka’s office here in the capital on Friday, taking away computers and detaining 15 ex-military staff members who worked there, said Shiral Laktilaka, the general’s lawyer.
A government spokesman confirmed the raid, but did not give details.
General Fonseka was at his house elsewhere in the capital at the time, said Mano Ganeshan, an opposition official. The police said they were looking for explosives during their five-hour search of the building, according to one office worker.
“This is the price we pay for democracy because he decided to contest the election,” Mr. Laktilaka said.
After his defeat, General Fonseka said the government was harassing his associates, and had recalled his 80-strong state-provided security force, a move he said put his life in danger. He also said authorities had put his name on the list of people who could not leave the country, a claim denied by the government.
The postelection acrimony could continue until the general elections. General Fonseka announced that he planned to run for a parliamentary seat.
The president can dissolve Parliament and call general elections at any point between now and April, when its six-year mandate expires. Mr. Rajapaksa and his coalition partners hold a majority in Parliament.
Detectives also questioned an editor of a pro-opposition newspaper, said an opposition lawmaker, Vijitha Herath. The editor, Chandana Sirimalwatta, of the newspaper Lanka, was asked to report to the Criminal Investigations Department on Friday, the lawmaker said, adding that officials were preparing to obtain an order from the government that could allow a 90-day detention under the country’s wartime emergency laws.
The newspaper backed General Fonseka in the presidential election and has reported on allegations of government corruption.
Separately, authorities ordered a Swiss radio journalist to leave Sri Lanka by Monday, after she asked critical questions at a postelection news conference this week, said Andreas Notter, a spokesman for the national broadcaster.
Sri Lanka has in the past expelled journalists, United Nations officials and aid workers who have spoken publicly about the plight of civilians during the country’s civil war and political repression.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that journalists in Sri Lanka have been subjected to government intimidation, arrests, censorship, and harassment in the aftermath of this week’s presidential election.
“We are receiving reports of government retribution against journalists who sided with the opposition in the election. Given the ugly history of attacks on journalists in Sri Lanka, we call on President Mahina Rajapaksa to ensure the safety of all journalists in Sri Lanka, and to use his new mandate to reverse the repressive trends of the past several years,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.
At least 10 security agents were deployed outside the Colombo offices of Lanka eNews, a Web site critical of Rajapaksa’s government, on Thursday night, according to CPJ sources. One source reported that authorities padlocked the gate to the premises before leaving late Thursday.
Prageeth Ekneligoda, a political reporter for Lanka eNews, remained missing today after disappearing on the night of January 24. Several CPJ sources said they fear he was abducted. Ekneligoda was described by colleagues as a political analyst who supported opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka.
Lanka eNews is blocked to online users in Sri Lanka, news reports said, although it is still accessible outside the country. In a joint e-mail message today, Sri Lankan press groups reported that three other Web sites critical of the government—Sri Lanka Guardian, Infolanka, and Nidahasa—have been blocked domestically by state and Internet service providers.
Swiss Public Radio reported today that Sri Lankan authorities have withdrawn a visa granted to journalist Karin Wenger and have asked her to leave the country within 48 hours. “I fear I have been kicked out for asking uncomfortable questions at a government press conference,” Wenger, who is based in New Delhi, told Agence France-Presse.
The Sinhala-language opposition weekly Lanka reported that its editor, Chandana Sirimalwatte, had been arrested around noon today. Several other news outlets picked up the report, citing Lanka as their source. CPJ is seeking to independently corroborate the arrest and the circumstances.
Fonseka, the former general who challenged Rajapaksa, has refused to accept the outcome of the election and has vowed a legal challenge. The BBC reported that journalists have been barred from entering the street where Fonseka’s campaign office is located, in a tourist hotel in Colombo. Fonseka has been widely quoted in the local and international media as saying that he wants to leave the country because of death threats.
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, a nonpartisan domestic group, said that while there were apparent irregularities in the polling, there was little evidence of large-scale fraud. About 70 percent of the country’s 14 million voters cast ballots, although the turnout in Tamil areas was only 30 percent, particularly in the northeast where the war with secessionist Tamils ended last year.
Two days after he was declared the winner of this week’s election, Reporters Without Borders appealed today to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put a stop to arrests and intimidation of journalists working for privately-owned and foreign media.
“This wave of post-election violence could cast a lasting stain on the start of President Rajapaksa’s second term and bodes ill for the political climate during the coming years,” said Reporters Without Borders, which highlighted an increase in election violence and censorship in countries such as Iran and Tunisia in its latest press freedom roundup.
Reporters Without Borders also reminds the president of the statements in support of press freedom that he has made on many occasions, including a meeting with a Reporters Without Borders representative in October 2008.
“It is quite normal for journalists and privately-owned media to side with a candidate before and during a democratic election but it is unacceptable for them to the victims of reprisals once the elections are over,” the press freedom organisation added.
Police and unidentified groups have been targeting the media, especially media that supported the leading opposition candidate, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, every since the announcement of the result, which some opposition sectors including Fonseka are disputing. Sri Lanka’s five main journalists’ organisations have issued a joint statement condemning the “post-election media suppression.”
The following serious press freedom violations have been reported:
1. Police today arrested Chandana Sirimalwatta, the editor of Lanka, a newspaper that supports the JVP opposition party, after he responded to a summons for questioning about an article published on 26 January. The president’s brother, defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, threatened to burn the newspaper down a few days ago.
2. Plain-clothes men using a car with the license plate 32/ 84 32 placed seals yesterday evening over the entrance to the office of the Lankaenews website. Men searched the office earlier in the day. The website itself has been rendered inaccessible for the past few days by the state telecommunications company Sri Lanka Telecom.
3. In an interview for the Colombo-based Daily Mirror newspaper yesterday, Tamil government minister Douglas Devananda threatened the Jaffna-based newspaper Uthayan with unspecified reprisals.
4. Reporter Karin Wenger of the Swiss public radio station DRS is facing possible deportation on 1 February following the withdrawal of her press accreditation. “I had a visa and accreditation that were valid for the election,” she told Reporters Without Borders. “I think this decision is linked to the questions I asked an official during a news conference after the results were announced.” A presidential adviser referred to her insultingly as a “white face.”
5. Ravi Abewikrama, a reporter with state radio broadcaster SLBC was attacked yesterday by one of the station’s officials for criticising the biased election coverage imposed by the head of the station.
6. Soldiers took up position on 26 January around and inside the buildings that house two privately-owned TV stations, Sirasa and Swarnavahini, in Colombo.
7. Soldiers roughed up photographers working for foreign news agencies when they tried to attend a news conference given by Gen. Fonseka yesterday. One was forced to delete the photos on his camera’s memory card. Soldiers also prevented journalists from working freely near a hotel being used by Fonseka the previous day.
Reporters Without Borders finally also urges President Rajapaksa to assign more police officers to the search for political reporter and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who has been missing since 24 January. His family has had no news of him since that date.
By Bob Dietz/Asia Program Coordinator - CPJ - Sri Lanka’s Department of Elections today declared incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa the winner of the presidential election with almost 58 percent of the vote. The situation is still tense as his opponent, former Gen. Sarath Fonseka, threatens a lawsuit to challenge the entire process, from voter access to irregularities in computer counting, to name just two aspects. Fonseka remains sequestered in the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo, where he and his political allies gathered as the results were tallied. Some Sri Lankan media say Fonseka is claiming there is a plot to assassinate him. Soon after he announced the results of the voting, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said he wanted to resign. He told reporters he is no longer able to bear the pressure imposed by various parties.
Among media professionals, there is plenty of tension. During the campaign, news media pretty much took sides in supporting either Rajapaksa or Fonseka. There was little middle ground in the coverage. Rajapaksa’s opponents note that state-controlled media were blatantly and illegally pressed into the incumbent’s political service.
We’ve documented one apparent attack on a journalist during the campaign, along with some online censorship. A pro-Fonseka journalist, Prageeth Ekneligoda, a political reporter for the Sri Lankan news Web site Lanka eNews, remains missing after disappearing on January 24. “I fear he has been abducted,” one Sri Lankan journalist wrote me the day after Ekneligoda went missing. On Tuesday, we reported that several Web sites were shut down, apparently on orders of the government, while the voting was under way.
I stayed up late communicating with Sri Lankan journalists and other sources, most of them texting on phones, and monitoring Twitter. Here is a typical quote from a journalist whose judgment I have grown to trust over the years. (I’m not going to identify sources because of the ongoing threat to journalists.) “It is widely believed the margin of victory is too large, and rigging of the computer tally is suspected. Bitterly fought election, so reprisals expected even with those in media.”
That is an issue on the minds of many journalists with whom I’ve been communicating today. Will Sri Lanka’s long suffering media face a storm of retribution now that the election has passed?
It doesn’t have to be that way, although the indicators are mixed: Sri Lanka ended its decades of warfare with Tamil secessionists last year, although many Tamils continue to suffer in its aftermath. It has just voted in an administration, although there is a possible legal challenge. The country is caught in a severe economic slump, in part tied to the war and in part tied to the global economic crisis. Diplomatic and trade pressure to reverse the repressive trends of the past five years is mounting; the European Union has put on hold a decision to extend a preferential trade and tariff agreement (called GSP+) that Sri Lanka needs to keep its clothing export industry thriving. In the United States, the Obama administration appears to be taking a new approach to countries like Sri Lanka, looking for leverage and influence but taking a less confrontational line. Before the stock market closed in Colombo on Tuesday afternoon, Sri Lanka stocks rose slightly; analysts said it was because of a “positive sentiment” among investors.
One, worrisome trend was the participation during the campaign of ranking military officers in TV political shows. They were there not because a colleague was running for the presidency, but because the military has become politicized to a degree not seen before in Sri Lanka, a 61-year-old developing country that has never had a military coup.
The partisanship shown in the media during the campaign is nothing new to the country; partisan journalism is part of the country’s decades-old media culture, as much a product of its colonial heritage as its public schools and parliamentary form of government.
Certainly the Rajapaksa government can learn to live within this culture. Violence against journalists, which spiked during the Rajapaksa administration’s all-out push to defeat the Tamil secessionists, can be reined in. The government can start to reverse the history of impunity in attacks on journalists, a record we documented in our 2009 report “Failure to Investigate.”
No one I’ve spoken with knows what will come next. Most, though not all, are fearful. Some have gone into hiding. At best, journalists outside the pro-government media are taking an anxious, wait-and-see attitude,
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