Lawyers and politicians call for ex - Army Chief's release

The Sunday Leader
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A group of lawyers organized a protest today (4) afternoon at Hulftsdorp calling for the release of former Army Commander and DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka.

The protest was organized by Lawyers for Democracy and was joined by Fonseka’s wife Anoma Fonseka.

DNA MPs Vijitha Herath, Tiran Alles and UNP MPs Karu Jayasuriya, Sajith Premadasa, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Gayantha Karunathileka, Sujeewa Senasinghe and New Left Front leader, Wickremabahu Karunaratne and Democratic People’s Front leader, Mano Ganeshan also joined the protest.

Meanwhile, protests calling for Fonseka’s release were also held in Kalutara, Ratnapura, Anuradhapura, Balapitiya and many other areas in the country.

© The Sunday Leader

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Sri Lanka ex-army chief vows to fight from jail

Agence France-Presse | Daily Times
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Sri Lanka’s jailed ex-military chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka vowed to fight for democracy as he was escorted out of prison Monday to attend another court case against him.

Fonseka, 59, told supporters outside the Colombo High Court that he was prepared to sacrifice his life and will not give up his struggle “for democracy”. “I am ready to sacrifice my life,” he said outside a packed court house. “I will not give up this struggle.” It was his first outing since he began his 30-month jail term Thursday after a court martial conviction.

The former four-star general began his prison time on Thursday night after President Mahinda Rajapakse confirmed the court martial conviction handed down on September 17 for making improper military procurements. Fonseka fell out with Rajapakse soon after crushing Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year and ending the island’s drawn out Tamil separatist war.

Fonseka unsuccessfully tried to unseat Rajapakse at a presidential election in January, but managed to win a parliamentary seat which is in doubt since his jailing on Thursday. Fonseka leads the opposition Democratic National Alliance, which accuses the government of a political vendetta against the former army chief.

The only four-star general to have been in active service in Sri Lanka’s army is sleeping on the cement floor of a cell at the maximum security Welikada prison and eats off a metal plate after lining up for food, his wife said. Fonseka was hailed as a hero after soldiers under his command crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year. Tamil separatist leaders were killed in a no-holds-barred offensive led by Fonseka.

The Tigers’ defeat ended nearly 40 years of separatist conflict in Sri Lanka, but rights groups led by Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch say thousands of civilians were also killed in the final onslaught. Fonseka’s lawyers said he faces a charge of “inciting people to violence” by commenting to a newspaper that surrendering rebel leaders were executed during the final days of the separatist war. agencies

© Daily Times

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Sri Lanka: Editor says 'Former Army chief blamed Defence Secretary for killings'

BBC Sinhala
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The defence secretary has ordered the killings of the Tamil Tigers who came to surrender, former commander of the army had told the editor of Sunday Leader, the Colombo High Court was told on Monday.

The editor, Frederica Jansz was giving evidence in a trial against the former military chief.

public disaffection

Sarath Fonseka is accused of spreading public disaffection by quoting allegations that the defence secretary ordered surrendering Tamil Tiger leaders to be shot dead last year.

Mr Rajapaksa has denied doing any such thing and has expressed outrage at the statements of his former friend, now bitter enemy, who was the army commander at the time.

The Sunday Leader editor told courts the former commander had told in an interview with her, that defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had instructed field commander Brigadier Shavendra De Silva to kill surrendering Tamil Tiger leaders who approached the advancing army with white flags.

Presidential campaign

The controversial claim in the interview by editor Jansz with Sarath Fonseka was published during his presidential campaign.

Quoting the former head of the army, the editor said, information about the imminent surrender of LTTE leaders, S. Puleethevan, B. Nadesan and Ramesh were conveyed to Presidential adviser Basil Rajapkasa through the government of Norway and several other nations. Basil Rajapaksa had passed the requests to his brother, the defence secretary.

Misquoted

Frederica Jansz told the courts that she verified the facts with the former commander before she publishing the story. He had stood by the facts and agreed the statements to be published in her newspaper.

Basil Rajapaksa when contacted denied the allegation, she added

Sarath Fonseka had maintained the position that the newspaper had misquoted him.

20 years in Jail

Outside the courts, Fonseka vowed to fight for democracy as he was escorted out of prison to attend the court case against him, widely known as the 'white flag case.

He told supporters gathered outside the Colombo High Court that he was prepared to sacrifice his life and will not give up his struggle "for democracy".

It was his first outing since he began his 30-month jail term Thursday after a court martial conviction

If found guilty of Inciting people to violence, Fonseka could face up to another 20 years in jail.

© BBC Sinhala

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