Sri Lanka former army chief demands 'rule of law'
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COLOMBO , APR 22 - Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who is being court martialled, called for the "rule of law" in an attack on President Mahinda Rajapakse at the opening of parliament Thursday.
Fonseka helped crush Tamil Tiger rebels and their 37-year separatist fight last year, but later fell out with Rajapakse and unsuccessfully tried to unseat him in presidential elections in January.
"What the country needs is democracy, rule of law, personal freedoms and media freedom," Fonseka told lawmakers after being taken from custody to attend the opening of parliament, in which he won a seat at polls two weeks ago.
His court martial, on charges of engaging in politics while in uniform and involvement in corrupt arms procurement, was adjourned on Tuesday for two weeks.
The comments from Fonseka, who says his court martial is politically motivated and designed to silence him, were his first remarks in public since his detention on February 8.
Rajapakse has been accused by political opponents and international human rights groups of suppressing dissent since his resounding re-election.
Rajapakse's coalition is just short of the two-thirds parliamentary majority required for the government to rewrite the constitution, which at present prevents him from standing again when his second term ends in 2016.
Both the presidential and parliamentary elections have tightened Rajapakse's grip on power, but analysts say he faces serious challenges in uniting the Indian Ocean island especially when it comes to its large Tamil minority.
When campaigning for the parliamentary election, Rajapakse had asked the electorate to grant him an unequivocal mandate that would put aside political divisions in the pursuit of economic growth after decades of ethnic conflict.
Fonseka, 59, had accused his former commander-in-chief of sleeping at national security council meetings, failing to grasp military strategy and profiting from arms purchases -- allegations rejected by Rajapakse.
The president and his family, whose members occupy key government positions, were particularly angered by Fonseka's announcement that he would be willing to testify before any international probe into war crimes allegations linked to last year's victory over the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
The United Nations says 7,000 civilians died during the final stages of the fighting with the Tigers and has also called on Colombo to account for alleged extrajudicial killings of Tamil prisoners.
The government has denied that any abuses took place.
The United States on Wednesday called on the new government to use its mandate to pursue a "healing process" as the island recovers the conflict.
Fighting ended in May last year with the wiping out of the Tiger leadership after decades of fighting in which the UN estimated 100,000 people died.
Posted on: 2010-04-22 11:52
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