Fonseka lost by nearly 20 percentage points to President
Soldiers arrested Fonseka, the former army chief, on Monday.
Rajapaksa marshaled political will, budgets and
public support last spring to win the 26-year war against the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Fonseka directed the strategy and
oversaw fighting on the ground.
The government information office said Tuesday that comments Fonseka made to the
in which he vowed to testify in a war-crimes trial against the
government proved his disloyalty. The government has strongly resisted
any outside review of its activities during the final days of the
conflict.
State media said by speaking to the press, Fonseka had divulged state secrets.
Since votes were tallied late last month, the
government has accused Fonseka of plotting with ex-army officers and
army loyalists to assassinate the president and seize power. It
deployed troops around the hotel where the opposition candidate was
staying on election night and subsequently raided his office and
arrested at least 37 of his supporters and staff.
Fourteen senior army officers who openly supported Fonseka were forced to retire and 40 others were transferred after the vote.
Political analyst
“The fact that Fonseka is a war hero, new on the
scene and attractive to voters worked for the opposition,” Perera
added. “By taking him away they have deprived the opposition.”
However,
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