Sri Lanka Consulatela

News Updates Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: opposition calls for the release of the loser of the presidential election

In Sri Lanka, these demonstrators fear for the life of the former army chief. In the capital Colombo, thousands of regime opponents demanded the release of Sarath Fonseka; they fear his assassination in prison. Sarath Fonseka lost the presidential elections on January 26 to President Rajapakse. He must be brought to court martial for conspiring against the government. For the opposition, it is the accusations of fraud launched by Fonseka that earned him this arrest.

Last May, however, Sri Lanka considered the general a hero, he, the architect of victory against the Tamil rebels. But as the presidential election approaches, relations have deteriorated between the president and his general. Today this arrest is causing concern in the UN and in Washington.