Demand for release of ex-army chief in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s opposition leader asked the president to free the former army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, from jail and restore his military rank as a campaign to secure his release was launched Tuesday.

In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe called on him to use his constitutional powers and cancel the sentence handed down by a court martial.

“We in the opposition, having taken into account the services rendered to the country by General Sarath Fonseka, are of the view that he should not be serving a sentence of imprisonment,” Wickremesinghe said.

Fonseka was sentenced to 30 months in jail after being found guilty of favouring his son-in-law’s company in tenders to supply the military during the war against Tamil rebels which ended in May 2009. He was also stripped of his military rank.

The opposition Tuesday also launched a public campaign to collect signatures for a petition to be sent to the president seeking the release of Fonseka, who spearheaded the military campaign against the rebels.

After the war, Fonseka fell out with Rajapaksa and went on to run against him in the January presidential elections. He contested the parliamentary elections in April and was elected.