Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka is no ordinary general. He is the army commander in the Sri Lankan army and the man leading the military offensive in north Sri Lanka, which has virtually decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the world's most-dreaded guerrilla force today.
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.
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.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighters were dressed in Indian army uniforms during the final battles of the nearly three-decade long civil war, former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka has said.
While Sri Lanka's state media chose to ignore Sarath Fonseka's release from prison, pro-government newspapers said on Tuesday that the former army chief had become a "political pawn" in the hands of foreign countries against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Jailed former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka was on Friday granted bail by the high court in Colombo in a case for harbouring military deserters, ahead of an imminent presidential pardon for him.
Former Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka has said that he will lead an Arab Spring-style uprising in his country to force the government from office. Fonseka, who was jailed for running as an opposition candidate, launched a bitter attack on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he accused of persecuting his family and terrorising opponents, and pledged a new campaign to topple his government.
Sri Lanka's former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, who had dared to challenge the country's powerful President in the 2010 electoral battle, will now form his own political party.
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
Jailed former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka, who led the successful battle against the Tamil Tigers, might be released within the next few days, presidential sources in Colombo said.
Sri Lanka on Tuesday, claimed that charges against defeated opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka were "serious enough" to warrant his arrest, raising a question mark on his participation in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections.
Sri Lanka's war hero Sarath Fonseka walked free from prison on Monday on a presidential pardon after spending two years behind bars for crossing swords with the powerful president and dabbling into politics.
Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka on Tuesday filed a petition in the supreme court in Colombo challenging the results of the January 26 polls and accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa of rigging the vote.
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.
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has asked opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka to direct his petition alleging bias on part of state-run media organisations to the election commissioner, before approaching the apex court.
The Sri Lankan government has slapped a fresh case on detained former army chief Sarath Fonseka for allegedly employing military deserters during the presidential campaign earlier this year, the poll which he contested unsuccessfully against President Mahinda Rajapakse. The attorney general's department filed a fresh case against Fonseka, who is now an opposition lawmaker. He is accused of employing 10 army deserters in the run-up to the January presidential poll.
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.
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.
In a letter addressed to the President, the 'Mahanayakes' or the Buddhist religious leaders said the monks' grouping 'Maha Sangha' has throughout its long history come forward to help resolve grave national issues, including conflicts among the rulers.
The US on dismissed Sri Lanka's charge that it had provided financial support to Sarath Fonseka during the January 26 presidential polls and asked Colombo to ensure safety of those who had supported the defeated opposition presidential candidate.
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'.
As street violence broke out in Colombo to protest the jailing of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced the dates for snap parliamentary polls which will be held on April 8.
The Sri Lankan government hit back at defeated opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka on Thursday alleging that he had attempted to "assassinate" President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.
Unidentified persons lobbed a bomb targeting the home of opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka's campaign manager in Colombo on Friday, as violence escalated with just four days left for the polls.
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.
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.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has approved the 30-month jail term given to former army chief Sarath Fonseka by a military court on charges of corruption, top officials said on Thursday.
The United Nations has sought an explanation from Sri Lanka on the death of three top Tamil Tiger leaders after former Army chief Sarath Fonseka alleged that surrendering Tamil rebels were killed in cold blood.
"Sri Lanka has a sovereign government and all its administrative matters (of the army) are with the President and commander in chief (Mahinda Rajapaksa) and defence secretary," Defence Spokesman and senior cabinet Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told PTI.
Bruce Fein, a former US deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan Administration, has filed a 12-count indictment against Sri Lanka's defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the country's army commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, for perpetrating genocide against Tamil civilians with US Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice.
General Sarath Fonseka may have violated the official secrets act by accusing Sri Lankan Defence Secretary of ordering the killing of surrendering Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders, a presidential legal adviser has said.
Already stripped off his military rank and medals, former Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka, was held guilty of corruption charges by a second court martial, sentenced to a prison term of three years. Fonseka had been charged with favouring an arms firm headed by his son-in-law in defence deals during his time as army chief.
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 President in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces has confirmed the findings and the punishment handed down by the first court martial," a military official said.
Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka, who presided over the military offensive on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has been asked by the United States authorities to testify before them against Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse over allegations of widespread human rights abuse during the war.
The United States has said the Sri Lankan government must respect the rights of detained former army chief Sarath Fonseka as it underlined the need for 'greater transparency' in the court martial proceedings against the top general. "We haven't seen the specifics of the charges (of court martials), but we have consistently stressed that it is important that General Fonseka's rights be respected and that he be accorded a full due process," said Robert Blake.
Nitin Gokhale, Defence Editor, NDTV, recalls his encounter with then Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka soon after the LTTE's defeat last year. A fascinating column on how Velupillai Prabhakaran finally met his nemesis.
The 225-member Parliament will elect the new president by a secret vote on July 20, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Friday.
Fonseka was to appear before the two court martials appointed to look into charges against him today, but proceedings of both the panels were postponed.
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