Defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate 'charged with treason'
Former Sri Lankan army general Sarath Fonseka, who lost last month's presidential election, arrested by government
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Tuesday, 09, Feb 2010 05:04
By Matthew Champion.
The former Sri Lankan army general who lost last month's presidential election is facing court martial on charges of treason, the country's government has said.
General Sarath Fonseka, who received 40.15 per cent of the vote to incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa's 57.88 per cent in the poll, was arrested last night at his office in Colombo.
The Sri Lankan defence ministry claims Gen Fonseka, who left the army last November to enter politics, is facing court martial for "military offences" and is "hell-bent" on betraying the country's armed forces.
"When he was the army commander and chief of defence staff and member of the security council, he had direct contact with opposition political parties, which under the military law can amount to conspiracy," said defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.
The defence ministry added that it planned to use Gen Fonseka's apparent admission that he would give evidence in an international court if Sri Lanka was accused of war crimes in evidence against him.
His wife Anoma Fonseka has told reporters her husband was "abducted" and dragged into a car in a dramatic arrest on Monday.
She claims to have been told his whereabouts but has been denied access.
Gen Fonseka and President Rajapaksa both claimed credit for the end of the 26-year civil war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, but their relationship fell apart in the aftermath of the victory.