Proclaiming that prospects of a 'change' in the island nation were in the offing, Sri Lanka's presidential challenger Sarath Fonseka on Thursday vowed to restore democracy and eradicate corruption from the country.
Harry Singh's father, R P Singh Senior, played two ODIs for India in the 1980s.
As protests against the arrest spilled onto the streets, riot police used tear gas, water cannons and canes to break up thousands of clashing pro-Fonseka supporters and ruling party activists as the government said claimed that the arrest of the country's former four star general was 'not an act of vengeance'.
A Sri Lankan military court on Friday stripped the country's war hero and former army chief Sarath Fonseka of his rank and medals after finding him guilty of dabbling in politics while in service. The General was convicted by a three-member military court which began deliberations five months ago. The court verdict has to be ratified by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the Sri Lankan media reported.
Defeated joint opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka rejected the Sri Lankan government's allegations on Thursday that he had attempted to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapakasa, terming it as "trumped up charges" to arrest him.
Nearly 70 percent voters cast their franchise in Sri Lanka's first post-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam presidential election on Tuesday, expected to be a close finish between incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger General Sarath Fonseka.
Dubbing ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka as a 'fool', Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ruled out an early pardon for the General, who is being court-martialed on charges of engaging in politics while in uniform and defence procurement irregularities."He is a fool. On November 16 (2009) he was sitting right here (the President's office in Colombo) and I asked him if he was interested in contesting (the presidential election) and he said, No, sir."
In a major boost to the presidential campaign of former top Sri Lankan army general Sarath Fonseka, the dominant Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance on Wednesday announced support to him.
According to General Sarath Fonseka's retirement letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it all boils down to the government's fears of a military coup and its mistrust of Sri Lanka's first and only serving four-star general.
On Thursday, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara spent 10 hours recording his statement to a Special Investigation Unit.
The NIA had filed the case suo motu on July 8 last year and arrested the 13 persons from Tamil Nadu.
The 225-member Parliament will elect the new president by a secret vote on July 20, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Friday.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
'The worry among many international actors is whether there will be stability to provide assistance to the government because the political developments in the last few months are a real concern.'
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under immense pressure from the public and the Opposition to quit over the island nation's worst economic crisis, said on Thursday that the abolition of the executive presidency, a move that will curb his powers, will be considered by Parliament.
Only 68 MPs voted in favour of the motion, it said, giving the 72-year-old President a comfortable victory.
'There is fear that the president and prime minister are dragging their feet and won't resign.'
"Over 80 per cent of the war against the LTTE has been completed after regaining 80 per cent of the areas under them and killing over 12,000 of their cadres," Lieutenant General Fonseka said. Fonseka's remarks came on Monday as the troops reached about seven kilometres south of Kilali lagoon which separates the Jaffna peninsula from the mainland.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday ordered the release of his former army chief turned political rival Sarath Fonseka, paving the way for him to walk out of prison after two years
'The fact that he hasn't resigned so far shows that he is going to do everything to hold onto power.'
Former Sri Lankan army chief and presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was on Friday convicted and sent to three year imprisonment after the high court found him guilty in the 'white flag' case.
Former Sri Lanka players Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have been summoned to appear before a special investigation unit in Sri Lanka.
With only a few days to go for the election, indications are that President Mahinda Rajapakse may even lose the election. His rival, the war-winning army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, has come from behind and is peaking now. He may even pip the president at the post, many analysts predict.
Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka has been moved to prison to serve out his 30-month sentence ratified by president Mahinda Rajapaksa, even as the opposition termed his incarceration as a 'degrading form of revenge'. Fonseka was court-martialled on charges of corruption in defence deals and subsequently transferred to the prison from his detention centre at the naval headquarters.
'The Rajapaksas have been in active politics for decades and survived many challenges, but they seem to have misread this one.'
Sri Lankan forces eliminated surrendering Tiger leaders on the orders of the defence secretary who had instructed that 'all Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders must be killed,' ex-army chief General Sarath Fonseka has claimed, prompting the government to describe it as a 'great betrayal.'
The fallout of the spat between two headstrong and powerful personalities like Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka does not augur well for this small and beautiful Island nation struggling to leave the ravages of war behind, writes Nitin Gokhale.
The stage is now set for what is expected to be the most closely contested Presidential polls in Sri Lanka, with the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger Sarath Fonseka are exuding full confidence of emerging victorious.
Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka's resignation has been accepted by the president with immediate effect, rejecting his request to serve for two more weeks, officials said on Friday.
With the beleaguered Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam confined to a small area of 4.5 sq kms, Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka has said the troops are consolidating their positions despite heavy attacks from remnant rebel cadres in the north, where at least 21 guerrillas were killed in intense clashes.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
As Sri Lankan troops advance towards the last Tiger bastion of Mullaittivu, Army Chief Sarath Fonseka has said he was not sure whether Velupillai Prabhakaran was on the island nation but felt that it was not possible for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo to find a shelter in India. The Lankan Air Force had destroyed a vessel carrying arms and ammunitions for the LTTE just when it was being offloaded in the rebel coastal area, Fonseka added.
Lt Gen Fonseka, who left for Pakistan on Sunday on an official tour, is slated to discuss several issues including defence purchases, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. During his stay, the visiting army chief is scheduled to meet President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani and several other defence officials.
'While parliament has elected him, the people are demanding that he goes home.'
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Authorities also released photographs of six suspects, including three women, wanted for their involvement in the attacks and sought information regarding them from the public.
'India has given assistance that we required, otherwise we would not have been able to survive this far.'
Sri Lankan authorities are questioning 37 persons, including a brigadier, a colonel and some army deserters, detained for their alleged role in a plot to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
A leading Washington, DC-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notwithstanding the arrest of retired Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka who challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse at the recent elections, and the country's poor record on human rights and its treatment of several thousand internally displaced persons, has said that the United States cannot afford to disengage with the island nation.
The keenly-contested presidential polls in Sri Lanka did not 'fully meet' key benchmarks for democratic elections and the arrest of opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka has increased tension in the country, according to a Commonwealth report.
