Colombo (AsiaNews) – Demonstrations for Sarath Fonseka's release continue. Bishops, lawmakers, trade unions, social and human rights groups have joined forces in order to ask President Mahinda Rajapksa to release the former military commander. The general has been detained since last January after he was charged and convicted for abuses he allegedly committed during his term as army chief during the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
Vickramabahu Karunaratne, a leader in the Left Front alliance, told AsiaNews that he “disagrees with verdict because it is not a regular trial, but a political decision of the regime. Until a few months ago, General Fonseka was a national hero. Today, the same government accuses him of being a thief and a fraud, and put in prison. Such a decision is not part of our legal system.”
That is not all; “thousands of Tamils are held illegally without due process. I have nothing to do with General Fonseka’s politics or his heroism. Still, I am certainly opposed to the way he was treated.”
The Left Front leader and other political leaders signed a petition for the general’s release during a demonstration before the Supreme Court.
Karunaratne also spoke to AsiaNews about the current political situation. “The government is backed by world powers. During the United Nations conference last month, President Rajapaksa tried to show that our economic policies are oriented towards the Western democratic model. Fonseka’s conviction was a token move in order to get international support to develop the country’s infrastructure.”
For Karunaratne, the attempt to attract global capital for infrastructural development is not in the best interest of the population or the country.
“We are leaving behind our own traditions,” he said. “No locally-based development is taking place in agriculture and industry.”
