Fonseka arrested, to be court-martialled

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s defeated opposition presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka was arrested on Monday night by the army and will be court-martialled for military offences committed while he was in service, a fortnight after he suffered defeat at the hands of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.

59-year-old Fonseka, the former army chief credited with the annihilation of the LTTE, was arrested along with his media secretary Senaka de Silva while on work at their office in the capital.

Defence spokesman Maj Gen Prasad Samarasinghe, who assumed charge on Monday, said Fonseka was taken into custody by the army and will “face court-martial proceedings for military offences committed during his service” .

Director General of the Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hullugala told state TV that Fonseka, a retired four-star general who served the Sri Lankan Army for nearly four decades, will be court-martialled . In dramatic turn of events, army men surrounded Fonseka’s office and arrested him and his aide. Another aide of the former army chief said “Fonseka and de Silva were told in clear terms to cooperate with the military police” .