Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate arrested
Updated
Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka has been arrested for unspecified "military offences." A spokesman for the main opposition alliance the JVP, said General Fonseka, who unsuccessfully challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse, in national elections last month, was taken away by force by about 100 soldiers.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Lionel Bopage, member of the Ethnic Communities Council in the Melbourne district of Darebin and former general secretary of Sri Lanka's opposition JVP alliance
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BOPAGE: He was at a discussion with other political leaders of the opposition, the United National Front, when Brigadier's (inaudible) battalion came into the office and evidently assaulted General Fonseka and dragged him by his feet, and this is according to one news source. So he was taken into custody, and according to the Director of Information in Sri Lanka, Mr Hulugalle, General Fonseka is to be court martialled for diverting military secrets particularly, some items relating to the war crimes perpeted (sic) to be committed during the war against the LTTE. And I need to add here that if war crimes were committed then all the parties in all the conflict I think would be guilty of.
LAM: Indeed, General Fonseka this week said that he would be happy to testify at any international war crimes investigation into the last days of the civil conflict. Do you think his arrest might have anything to do with that?
BOPAGE: I think so, because General Fonseka said ... um, I was in Sri Lanka during the election campaign and according to what I saw, Mr Fonseka had told that he knows all what happened and he takes responsibility for all what happened, but he's going to divulge whatever the information that is required for having a trial, a Tribunal against the war crimes committed. Now what has happened is today or tomorrow Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka, is visiting United Nations Human Rights Council body in Geneva to say that democratic rights are protected in Sri Lanka and media is not harassed and so on, to provide guarantees and to get the (inaudible). Now before those things happened, General Fonseka has been taken into custody, this seems to be an attempt to muscle General Fonseka from divulging any evidence that could be used by any war crimes tribunal.
LAM: Some officers loyal to General Fonseka were sacked earlier this year after being accused of being a direct threat to national security. To your knowledge, was General Fonseka stirring unrest in Colombo?
BOPAGE: To my knowledge he hasn't and my gut feeling is that the government is working towards a one-party semi-military dictatorship, I would say. And the blocking of websites such as Lank-E-news, Lanka Guardian continues, and assaults, kidnappings of journalists such as Prageeth Eknaligoda, the leader of 'Lanka e-news' continues; sacking and humiliating staff at the government and semi-government institutions who supported the Opposition candidate continues; purging of the security forces one-sidedly. The security forces are not supposed to be not involved in politics.
LAM: Shortly after last month's elections, General Fonseka had spoken of an assassination plot. Is his life in danger do you think?
BOPAGE: Now according to the news I heard this morning, he has to take medicine every six hours due to the attempted assassination by the LTTE, and the Defence Ministry has not responded positively to allow him to take medicine, this is what I heard. And if that is so, his life will be in danger.
LAM: And finally Lionel, how do you think the opposition JVP alliance might respond to Fonseka's arrest? Do you foresee unrest in Colombo?
BOPAGE: Now from my experience during the last few decades I would say if the government doesn't adhere to democratic norms and protect human rights and allow the opposition to express their opinions freely and fairly, I would believe that this will lead to another period of unrest.
