Arcadia Foundation

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Sri Lankan capital Tuesday to demand the immediate release of the country’s opposition leader, an ex-army chief facing a court-martial on charges including participating in politics while still in uniform. These charges have been called ‘baseless‘, as many feel they are trumped up from his running for office against the ruling regime.

The arrest of Gen. Sarath Fonseka has indeed been condemned by international human rights groups, many of which have accused the government of retaliation for Mr. Fonseka challenging President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his re-election bid. They say the government is trying to stifle the opposition before parliamentary elections on April 8 .

Fonseka is the leader of the opposition Democratic National Alliance, which organized Tuesday’s protest in Colombo, and is running for a seat in parliament despite his detention.

Party spokesman Vijitha Herath told reporters at the protest that it is clear the charges against Fonseka are “baseless” and the government has no moral or legal right to court-martial the former army chief.

“We are protesting against the government’s attempt to suppress the opposition and this fraudulent court-martial,” he said, vowing to bring more people into streets.

Fonseka was arrested by the army last month after he lost January’s presidential election. He has been charged with participating in politics while army chief and violating military procurement procedures.

Rajapaksa and Fonseka were once strong allies in their campaign to defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels and end their 25-year armed campaign for an independent state. After routing the rebels last May, both men were hailed as heroes by the country’s Sinhalese majority.

But the two quickly turned on each other and Fonseka quit the army to lead the opposition.

Rajapaksa has appointed a three-member tribunal to try Fonseka. The judges began proceedings on March 16.

Government officials have also accused Fonseka of plotting to assassinate Rajapaksa, but that is not among the official charges against him.

The court-martial is scheduled to resume in April.

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