SRI LANKA’S former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka is to be court martialled, officials have said, a day after he was taken into custody by armed troops.
In a brief statement posted on its website yesterday, the Sri Lankan defence ministry said Gen Fonseka (59) would be charged with “certain fraudulent acts and other military offences”.
“He will face a court martial even though he is not a serving officer,” news reports from Sri Lanka said, quoting an unnamed official close to the ruling establishment.
The former army chief, responsible for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels last year after their three-decade long and gory campaign for an independent homeland that claimed more than 65,000 lives, is reportedly being held at an undisclosed military base ahead of disciplinary proceedings.
His wife, Anoma Fonseka, claimed her husband had been kidnapped by the state. “This is not an arrest, it is an abduction,” she said tearfully, expressing concerns over his poor health and need for regular medication.
Shortly after the presidential election on January 26th, which the incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse won easily, the government had accused Gen Fonseka of plotting a coup to overthrow the president and assassinate family members.
Earlier this month, in an indication of impending government plans, Mr Rajapakse sacked a dozen senior military officers whom the defence ministry claimed threatened national security.
Analysts in the capital Colombo, however, believe that Mr Rajapakse has taken the drastic step of apprehending Gen Fonseka to prevent him from testifying before an international war crimes tribunal which is demanding an inquiry into allegations that a senior Sri Lankan defence official had ordered surrendering rebel Tamil leaders to be killed.
“I am not prepared to protect anyone if they have committed war crimes,” Gen Fonseka said soon after his arrest, in direct defiance of the government. It is resisting all calls for an investigation into these reportedly “sanctioned” killings.
According to the United Nations, some 7,000 civilians, largely Tamils, died during the final stages of fighting that ended in May 2009.
Last November, Gen Fonseka, who holds a US “green card”, cut short a visit to the US to avoid questioning by the authorities there on the war crimes issue, even though he had initially agreed to be examined. Pressure was put on him to return home by the Sri Lankan government which feared that Gen Fonseka would provide evidence against defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the president’s brother, who played a major role in successfully executing the war against the Tamil Tigers.
Gen Fonseka, a national hero who fell out with President Rajapakse after both sought to take credit for the military campaign against the Tigers and who opted to take him on politically in the presidential polls, had also vowed to challenge the electoral results in the supreme court.
He had also expressed keenness to contest the parliamentary elections due to be held on April 8th.