Oct 12, 2010

Sarath Fonseka’s woes

It seems there are no let up in the woes of the Eelam War hero and former Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka ever since he entered politics after retirement. A General Court Martial (GCM) on September 17, 2010 found him guilty on four counts of irregularities in military purchases while serving as army commander and favouring his son-in-law’s company. The GCM sentenced him to three years imprisonment. However, the President while confirming the sentence reduced the period of imprisonment to two and a half years. Only last month another GCM stripped him of his rank and military honours for dabbling in politics while serving as army commander. The treatment meted out to Fonseka sharply contrasts with the handling of LTTE prisoners none of whom have been prosecuted. In fact, even as the President signed confirmation of Fonseka’s jail sentence, 397 Ex-LTTE combatants were released from a rehabilitation camp in Vavuniya after being detained for 16 months. Both the main opposition parties -the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the United National Party have condemned Fonseka’s conviction as politics of persecution.

OCT 2010

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