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Sri Lanka tension rises as poll called
Melbourne Age - February 11, 2010
Matt Wade – Sri Lankans are bracing for fresh political turmoil after President Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolved the country's Parliament a day after Sarath Fonseka, who challenged him in a presidential poll last month, was dragged from his office and detained.
General Fonseka's nephew Max Malwenna told The Age that his family fears he will be killed in custody or face execution on trumped-up charges of treason.
"I fear for his life, maybe through the death penalty or maybe some other way," he said. "We can't rule it out, that may be one of their agendas." Anoma Fonseka, wife of Sarath Fonseka, after her husband's arrest.
Mr Fonseka has refused to eat or drink anything provided by his captors for "security reasons", Mr Malwenna, who lives in Sydney, said.
The retired general's wife, Anoma, took him food and water when she was allowed to visit him on Tuesday night at the Colombo naval base where he is being held.
The former Sri Lankan army chief has been on medication since he was badly injured by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomb attack in 2006, and his family is concerned about his health.
A distressed Mrs Fonseka has made an emotional appeal for her husband's release and called on foreign governments to help.
"He is the man who rescued Sri Lanka from the culture of terrorists, and I can't believe they are doing this type of thing to him," she told an Indian television station. "I don't know what type of law there is in this country."
Mr Fonseka, 59, led the Sri Lankan army to victory over the Tamil Tigers last May, ending nearly 30 years of civil war. He retired from the military in November and became the presidential candidate for Sri Lanka's main opposition parties.
"We have good reason to believe that the extrajudicial arrest of General Fonseka may be followed up with assassination while in custody," opposition parties said in a joint statement.
Amid growing anger over the arrest, Mr Rajapaksa dissolved Sri Lanka's national Parliament at midnight on Tuesday. Elections for the 225-seat legislature are expected on April 8. Mr Rajapaksa, who won last month's presidential poll by a 17 percentage point margin, is counting on his personal popularity delivering his Sri Lanka Freedom Party and its allies a solid parliamentary majority.
But political violence was reported within hours of the Parliament being dissolved when police fired tear gas to disperse two groups of protesters, including Buddhist monks, that clashed near Colombo's main court complex. A group protesting against the arrest of Mr Fonseka came under attack by another group believed to be government supporters.
The opposition has called for nationwide protests to demand Mr Fonseka's release. He won 40 per cent of the vote in last month's presidential poll.
The presidential election campaign was the most violent in Sri Lanka for more than a decade. A Sri Lankan human rights activist, who spoke to The Age on condition of anonymity, said tension over the arrest could lead to even more unrest.
"We are all nervous that the parliamentary election will turn out to be more violent," he said. "It's getting very intense."
Sri Lanka's defence spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, said Mr Fonseka was arrested on "charges of committing alleged violation of military law" while he was chief of defence staff.
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