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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka bars Fonseka from politics

2012-05-26

[Bangla Daily Star] Sri Lanka's ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka is barred from political office for seven years, despite being freed from jail on Monday, his lawyer said on Thursday. Comes as a surprise, huh? Fonseka stood against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a presidential election two years ago, lost and was imprisoned shortly afterwards. Fonseka's lawyer, Nalin Laduwahetti, says that the terms of his release prevent him from running for office. They are trying to secure a full pardon for the chief. The President has remitted Fonseka's two-and-a-half year jail sentence for corruption, but has not pardoned him or annulled the sentence already served. This means he is subject to a seven-year restriction of his civic rights. The government is interpreting the Constitution to rule that he can vote but cannot contest an election in that period.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka President Orders Ex-Army Chief Freed

2012-05-21

[An Nahar] Sri Lanka's president has ordered the release of his jugged Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! electoral rival, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to U.S.-led international pressure three years after the end of the island's long ethnic war. The 61-year-old former four-star general could leave prison on Monday following legal formalities, an official said Sunday, after President Mahinda Rajapakse marked the third anniversary of the Tamil Tigers' crushing defeat. Fonseka was placed in durance vile Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! two weeks after he unsuccessfully challenged Rajapakse's re-election in January 2010. The president signed the papers ordering Fonseka's release on Friday evening before leaving for Qatar on Saturday, front man Banda Jayasekera said. "Papers will be sent to the Ministry of Justice on Monday," he said. Fonseka's wife Anoma Fonseka said she welcomed the decision to release her husband but was unaware of the terms of the presidential pardon. "I welcome the announcement (of the release)," she told news hounds outside a private hospital where prison authorities took her husband for treatment for a respiratory problem two weeks ago. "I hope the president will keep his promise to release him unconditionally," she said, adding that she hoped there would be no legal impediment for him to engage in politics. However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... official sources said the pardon only cancels out the sentence and Fonseka may not have his civic rights to participate in elections for seven years from the time he walks out of jail. Fonseka's Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party politician and chief negotiator Tiran Alles said they will campaign for a complete pardon.

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Sri Lanka

Lankan ex-army chief ransom bail seen as prelude to pardon

2012-05-19

A court granted bail for Sri Lanka's ex-army chief on Friday, a move seen as a step toward a full pardon for the man credited with ending the country's long civil war but who later was incarcerated Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! after challenging the president in elections. Sri Lanka's High Court set Sarath Fonseka's bail at $8,000 in a case where he is accused of harboring army deserters. His lawyer, Saliya Peiris, said that Fonseka was also asked surrender his passport. The court's decision comes ahead of a meeting between Sri Lanka's foreign minister and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ... sometimes described as The Heroine of Tuzla and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Edward Everett ... on Friday in which human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... issues in the island nation are expected to be discussed. The U.S. has called Fonseka a political prisoner. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... Fonseka will not be freed immediately because he is serving a 30-month jail term after a court martial found him guilty of planning his political career while still in the military and of committing fraud in purchasing military equipment. Separately, in November 2011, he was sentenced to an additional three-year prison term for implicating the defense secretary and president's brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in war crimes during Sri Lanka's civil war. He has appealed the conviction. Fonseka has said the cases are a political vendetta launched to persecute him for daring to run against incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2010 election. The government has denied any political motive for the legal action.

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Sri Lanka

Ex-army chief still jugged

2011-12-17

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court rejected an appeal by the ex-army chief and is letting stand his conviction and 30-month jail term for fraud. Government there isn't exactly grateful for everything Fonseka did to win the civil war... If there's another one I'll betcha he's sprung. Three judges on the court of appeal said Friday they were "in total agreement with the reasoning adopted in the main judgment." A court martial last year found Gen. Sarath Fonseka guilty of bypassing military procedures in purchasing equipment and involving his son-in-law in the dealings. He was sentenced to an additional three-year term last month for implicating the defense secretary in war crimes during Sri Lanka's civil war.

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Sri Lanka

Imprisoned Lanka war hero gets 3-year sentence

2011-11-19

[Emirates 24/7] Sri Lanka's former army chief was sentenced on Friday to three more years in prison for reportedly implicating the defence secretary in war crimes at the end of the country's civil war On Easter Sunday in 402, General Stilicho defeated Alaric, King of the Visigoths, at the Battle of Pollentia, capturing his camp and his wife. This battle was the last victory celebrated in a triumphal march in Rome. In 403 at Verona, Stilicho again bested Alaric, who only escaped by the speed of his horse. In A.D. 408 the Emperor Honorius had Stilicho put to death. Two years later Alaric and his Visigoths sacked Rome, making off with most of the city's wealth and a fair number of its residents as slaves or as hostages. At the time there was suspected to be a connection. But I suppose I could be wrong. Two judges of a three-member High Court bench ruled Sarath Fonseka's reported comments to a newspaper in 2009 breached the harsh emergency law in place during and after the 26-year civil war. He claimed at his trial he was misquoted. Fonseka rejected the verdict as unjust but said he was not surprised because Sri Lankan authorities did not want him active in politics. Attorney Nalin Ladduwahetty said Fonseka would appeal the sentence. The court's third judge ruled to acquit him. Fonseka led Sri Lanka's army to victory in its 26-year civil war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. He had immense popularity from leading the army that defeated a rebel group that had seemed invincible for decades and challenged one-time ally President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election last year.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka did not order shooting of surrendering rebels: top official

2011-01-26

(Xinhua) -- Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry Secretary told the Colombo High Court Tuesday that he did not order the killing of surrendering Tamil Tiger rebels during the last stages of the conflict. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa was giving evidence before the High Court on the "white flag case" where former army chief Sarath Fonseka is being tried for his statement that top defense officials had ordered the killing of the rebels who gave themselves up to the army with white flags in May 2009 when the three decade old war ended. The top defense official said the false accusation caused immense international damage to Sri Lanka, and as a result some of the foreign training for the Sri Lankan troops came to be suspended. He said on the contrary the government treated the the surrendering rebels well, over 5,600 of whom were already rehabilitated and released. Fonseka who led the troops to victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels fell out with the president after the conflicted ended. His statement on the rebel killing was made to a Sunday weekly when he contested against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election in January 2010.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka jails ex-army chief

2010-09-18

A court martial in Sri Lanka convicted former army chief Sarath Fonseka on Friday of corrupt military supply deals and sentenced him to three years in jail. The military court, whose decision must now be ratified by President Mahinda Rajapakse, found that Fonseka favoured an arms company run by his son-in-law, the official said, asking not to be named. Last month, Fonseka was stripped of his rank and pension after another court found him guilty of dabbling in politics while in uniform. Fonseka, 59, who led the military to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year, fell out with the government and unsuccessfully tried to unseat Rajapakse in January polls. “The chairman of the court read out its decision and it must now be ratified by the president,” the official said, adding that the closed-door court would make no formal announcement. Rajapakse is expected to ratify the decision — seen as a formality — when he returns from the United Nations general assembly session this month. Fonseka’s lawyers had refused to make final submissions in the former army chief’s defence after accusing the court of serious irregularities. Fonseka was arrested two weeks after his defeat in the presidential elections and has remained in military custody since. He won a seat in parliamentary elections in April, however, allowing him to attend parliament. He has said the government is seeking revenge for his decision to stand against the president and to keep him from from speaking in parliament. “They are going to put me in jail and I am prepared for that,” Fonseka told reporters in parliament after being escorted by the military from his room in Colombo’s naval headquarters to parliament in August. The first court martial ordered the withdrawal of the medals he had earned during his 40-year military career and also stripped him of his rank and pension. The former four-star general quit the military in November to become an opposition politician, but has since been embroiled in numerous court cases, which he says are being orchestrated by the government. He faces civilian charges of employing army deserters, as well as revealing state secrets — offences that carry a 20-year jail term.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka suspends Fonseka court martial

2010-05-04

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's court of appeal on Monday suspended a court martial probing ex-army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka who is charged with engaging in politics while in uniform. The appeal court ordered the military hearing against Fonseka that began in March to halt its work until a decision has been made on the validity of the legal proceedings. Fonseka, who was defeated at January presidential elections by the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapakse, was arrested soon after the polls and charged with engaging in politics before he quit the army in November. He also faces a second court martial on charges of corrupt military procurements. He says both sets of charges are part of a political vendetta. Fonseka last year led the military to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels, ending decades of ethnic conflict on the island, but he and Rajapakse later fell out. He remains detained at Colombo's naval headquarters, from where he contested parliamentary elections in April, winning a seat in the 225-member assembly. ‘The suspension of the first court martial is a big victory for General Fonseka,' fellow legislator Tiran Alles told AFP. ‘Now that we have this decision we will file another appeal to suspend the second court martial.' A court martial hearing scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled because it clashed with a sitting of parliament, a military source said, adding that Fonseka would attend the assembly. He was briefly released from military custody for the opening of parliament on April 22 and vowed he would use the floor of the House to campaign for freedom and democracy. ‘They want to convict me and send me to jail because that is the only way to stop me from coming to parliament,' he told AFP by telephone when the parliament opened. ‘I will not remain silent. I will keep up my fight.' The arrest and detention of Fonseka drew angry protests which have since fizzled out. His political allies during the presidential election campaign have also split and weakened the country's opposition. Fonseka, the only four-star general to have served in the Sri Lankan military, has filed several cases in both the appeal court and the supreme court challenging the legality of his arrest. He has also petitioned the Supreme Court challenging Rajapakse's re-election, alleging the vote was rigged — a charge the government denies. Rajapakse, who has a firm grip on power in Sri Lanka, has been accused by political opponents and international human rights groups of suppressing dissent since his resounding re-election.

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Sri Lanka

Fonseka rails against 'injustices' at opening of Sri Lankan parliament

2010-04-22

General Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka's opposition leader and former army chief, demanded his freedom and called for democracy and the rule of law today in his first public appearance since being arrested in February. General Fonseka, who led the Army to victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last year, is in the midst of a court martial trial that he says is his punishment for challenging the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a presidential poll in January. But he was allowed to attend the opening of parliament today after winning a seat in parliamentary elections two weeks ago as he has not yet been convicted of any charges. "The protection of democracy must begin here in parliament," General Fonseka told lawmakers after being escorted into the chamber by guards. President Rajapaksa's ruling coalition won 144 of 225 seats in the new parliament, leaving it just six short of the two thirds majority it needed to change the country's constitution. Mr Rajapaksa says he will use the strongest mandate since the late 1970s to rebuild Sri Lanka's economy -- especially the tourist sector -- and address the concerns of the ethnic Tamil minority after 26 years of civil war. Opponents accuse him of prolonging emergency rule to suppress political dissent, and planning to change the constitution to extend his own rule beyond the end of his second term in 2016. They also accuse him of trying to establish his family as a political dynasty. His older brother, Chamal, was unanimously elected today as the Speaker of Parliament -- a powerful post that gives him control of the legislature's agenda and to decide whether an impeachment motion can be brought against the President. The President's 23-year-old British-educated son, Namal, was also sworn in as an MP for the first time after winning a seat in the Rajapaksa clan's home district of Hambantota. President Rajapaksa's youngest brother, Basil, also retained his seat in parliament and continues to act as a presidential advisor. Another younger brother, Gotabaya, is not an MP but is in charge of all security issues as Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Public Security and Law and Order. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has accused General Fonseka of plotting a coup, and betraying the Army by planning to testify to an international investigation into alleged war crimes during the civil war. General Fonseka was taken back into custody at the naval headquarters in Colombo after the opening of parliament, according to one of his key political allies, Tiran Alles. But Mr Alles told The Times that the General, as an elected MP, would be allowed to attend parliament whenever he wanted until he was convicted. "That could take three to four years once the appeals are heard," he said. "If there is justice in this country, I'm sure the courts will send him home on bail before then."

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Sri Lanka

Fonseka court martial begins

2010-03-17

COLOMBO: Court martial proceedings against the former Army Chief, General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, for alleged involvement in politics while in uniform, commenced here on Tuesday. General (retired) Fonseka appeared before the court martial with his lawyers, headed by Rienzi Arsakularathne, the President's counsel. Representatives of the Attorney-General's Department appeared for the prosecution and the next date of hearing has been fixed two days ahead of the April 8 general election. There were reports of protests by the General's supporters in various parts of the island nation. Last week, on a directive from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Army Chief Jagath Jayasurya had named a three-member panel of two-star Generals to try General (retired) Fonseka on two different sets of charges. He is charged with engaging in politics while he was still the commander of the Army and making military purchases in contravention of set procedures. Tuesday's court martial is the first against a former Army Chief in Sri Lanka and General (retired) Sarath Fonseka is the country's first four-star General. He was conferred the rank by Mr. Rajapaksa after the security forces defeated the LTTE in May last year. General (retired) Fonseka was arrested on February 8 on several charges, including attempt to destabilise the government. He has challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court, which has fixed a hearing for April 26. The two charges relating to politics and military purchases will be heard separately by the second court martial on Wednesday. Both Courts Martial are presided over by Major-General H.L Weerathunga and served by Major-General A.L.R Wijethunga, Major-General D.R.A.B Jayathilake and Rear-Admiral W.W.J.S Fernando (Judge Advocate). Separately, Presidential Secretariat, in a press statement, said that there had been a series of statements and comments on the internet in the past few days on alleged government plans to arrest NGO activists and to suppress and intimidate its opponents and critics. It further said the government was in the process of preparing comprehensive legislation to govern NGO activities in the country, as there were many instances of malpractice, including misappropriation of huge sums donated by foreign governments and organisations. Once such legislation was in place, the government hoped NGO activities could be properly observed and monitored to suit national requirements, it added.

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Sri Lanka

Fonseka faces court martial

2010-03-12

[Bangla Daily Star] Sri Lanka's military yesterday announced court martial proceedings against its former chief Sarath Fonseka for engaging in politics while in uniform and violating military procurement laws. Valentinian III killed Aetius with his own hand, once Attila was out of the way. Of course, Valentinian was murdered within a year, and 20 years later there was no Western Empire. Army spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe made no mention of the more serious conspiracy and assassination plot charges that Fonseka and Rajapakse were allies in the crushing of Tamil Tiger separatist rebels last May, which ended their 37-year struggle that left up to 100,000 people dead according to a UN estimate. Fonseka later fell out with Rajapakse over who should claim credit for the victory. some in the ruling party had levelled at Fonseka after his defeat in presidential elections in January. The highly decorated ex-army commander will be charged on seven counts of breaking army rules, Samarasinghe said, adding that a court martial would start hearing the case on Tuesday at the navy headquarters in Colombo. "There is no time frame to end the court martial proceedings," Samarasinghe said, adding that Fonseka, who is under military custody at a naval detention centre, could appeal to a civilian court after the military verdict. Supporters of Fonseka say the court martial is an attempt to stop the 59-year-old campaigning in parliamentary elections due next month. President Mahinda Rajapakse has been accused by rights groups and other critics of cracking down on the opposition and dissent since he defeated Fonseka, a former ally and now bitter enemy, in a poll in January. Fonseka was arrested by the military on February 8, two weeks after he lost the presidential election. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who is the president's younger brother, had said that the government had clear evidence of Fonseka plotting a coup and planning to assassinate the president. The defence secretary had speculated that the hearing against Fonseka could go on for at least six months and on conviction he could be sentenced to five years in prison. Ruling party politicians had also accused Fonseka of planning to overthrow the government and had labelled him a "traitor" for standing against his former commander-in-chief at the presidential polls. Spokesman Samarasinghe said he was unaware of "conspiracy charges" against Fonseka, but said an investigation was being carried out by the police Criminal Investigations Department too. "The CID is doing a separate investigation on General Fonseka," Samarasinghe said. "It might be related to charges to overthrow the government. That is a civil matter. The military will limit itself to violations of the Army Act." Samarsinghe said Fonseka said the seven counts related to two charges -- engaging in politics and wrongdoing in military procurements. Fonseka is accused of "conduct unbecoming" an officer, as well as maintaining contacts with opposition politicians while being head of the army and unfairly granting an arms contract to a company run by his son-in-law. The police have already mounted a search for Fonseka's son-in-law, whose bank accounts have been frozen by the authorities. Fonseka has challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court, which has fixed a hearing for April 26. Fonseka and Rajapakse were allies in the crushing of Tamil Tiger separatist rebels last May, which ended their 37-year struggle that left up to 100,000 people dead according to a UN estimate. Fonseka later fell out with Rajapakse over who should claim credit for the victory. Despite his detention, he still intends to contest the April 8 parliamentary elections, which Rajapakse is expected to win.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan opposition fights to be heard

2010-02-26

Street protests that erupted in Colombo and other cities following the February 8 arrest of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka have yet to gain wider support from non-political groups. The protests began on a fiery tone when about 2,500 pro-Fonseka protesters chased down by pro-government supporters braved tear gas and water cannons to hold their first rally near the country's highest court on February 10. They vowed to continue the movement until the former army commander was released. Fonseka was arrested on charges of corruption and attempts to topple the government while he was in public office. The government has maintained that there is no political motivation behind the arrest of Fonseka. "We have repeatedly said that there is no political motive behind this. The law of the nation has been followed," Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Aberyawardena told the press. Although no formal charges have been filed against Fonseka, the government has accused the losing presidential candidate of plotting to overthrow the government in a military-style coup. Protests and processions held in the city have been boisterous but peaceful. But several staged in cities outside Colombo have turned violent with protesters clashing with police. The People's Liberation Front (PLF) and the United National Party (UNP), the two main political parties that formed the foundation for Fonseka's failed presidential bid, have mainly been leading the protests. There have been attempts by non-political groups to lend support to them, but they have not been able to bring large numbers of protesters. "The arrest is a reflection of our freedoms. It affects all of us mothers, wives, widows. This has to become our struggle," Vishaka Dramadasa, one of the protestors, told Inter Press Service (IPS).

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