Facing offensive presidential election with self-respect

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 23:04 GMT]
The Tamil parties thinking of fielding a common candidate should rise above outside diktats, should do justice to the Tamil cause at this formative stage of new Tamil polity and should come out with an election agenda that doesn’t harm the cause of Tamils in the long run. Any mistake made now will be irreversible, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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SL Supreme Court wants assessment report on Fonseka’s security

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 December 2009, 17:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court directed the Attorney General to furnish a security assessment report on General (retd) Sarath Fonseka when the latter’s Human Rights Violation petition was taken up for inquiry Wednesday. The former SLA commander, who has been nominated as the common presidential candidate of the opposition, has filed FR petition seeking the court to order the government to provide adequate security for him and to direct the government to allow him to stay in his official residence, legal sources said.
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Attacks on JVP political offices continue, A’pura office ransacked

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 December 2009, 11:26 GMT]
Supporters of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are on the rampage in several areas in the south attacking offices of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) since the latter extended its full support to General Sarath Fonseka, who is to contest as the common opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential election. Submission of nominations by registered political parties is to begin on December 17 and the election is fixed for January 26.
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Grabbing land for wrecking contiguity of Tamil homeland

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 December 2009, 10:22 GMT]
‘Investors’ may see the eastern coastal tract of the island of Sri Lanka, from Kokku’laay to Kuchchave’li, potential for minerals, tourism and fisheries. But the tract is of utmost importance to Eezham Tamils in linking the north and east of their historic homeland. Tamils wouldn’t have been averse to the idea of anyone coming and investing in this tract had there been a guarantee to the territorial integrity of their nation. It would have even been welcomed. But the genocidal Sinhala State and powers of greed have chosen the cruel way to achieve ambitions by crushing the Tamil nation – killing, maiming, chasing, incarcerating and weakening the historical inhabitants. If India that has a particular eye on this tract wants its gratification peaceful and long lasting it should take the responsibility of not altering the demography, writes a university academic of the Eastern Province.
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Fonseka to contest presidential election on swan symbol

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 12:42 GMT]
Former Sri Lanka Army Commander General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, the common opposition candidate for the Sri Lankan presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on January 26 is to contest on the symbol swan and on the ticket of a newly registered political party. He held the first press briefing Sunday morning at Jaica Hotel in Colombo.
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Government supporters attack JVP activists

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 November 2009, 04:55 GMT]
A group of supporters said to be from the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Saturday morning attacked a group of activists of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) when the latter were putting up posters in connection with the rally supporting the opposition common presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka in Maradana in Colombo, according to a press release by the JVP.
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Vikramabahu Karunaratne invokes support among Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 2009, 10:17 GMT]
After supporting the federal aspiration of Eezham Tamils in the 1956 elections, now for the first time left political parties led by Sinhala leaders have come forward to field a common presidential candidate, Dr. Vikramabahu Karunaratne, with a main programme recognising Tamil Nation, its homeland in the north and east, its right to self-determination and autonomy as solution for the unity of the island. When agenda-setting powers harping on chauvinistic elements keep mum on recognising the fundamentals, and when Tamil political parties including some Tamil left leaders locked in agendas don’t have guts to spell out the fundamentals, why not voice-deprived Tamils and peace-loving Sinhalese register opinion and explore co-existence through support to the Left Front, is a topic widely discussed in the Tamil circles.
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JHU parliamentarian criticizes General Sarath Fonseka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 15:45 GMT]
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian Venerable Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera Thursday at a press conference made a scathing attack on General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, the opposition backed common candidate that he (Sarath) was a part of an international conspiracy aimed at making way for the intervention of foreign troops into the country. He declined to elaborate the allegation. The Buddhist monk is leading a group of the JHU.
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UNP, SLFP-M back Fonseka

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 November 2009, 13:04 GMT]
The working committee of the main Sri Lankan opposition United National Party (UNP) Thursday endorsed General (retd) Sarath Fonseka as their common presidential candidate. UNP is the main constituent of the newly formed United National Front (UNF). The peoples’ wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), led by rebel SLFP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera, former Foreign Minister in the President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government also endorsed General Sarath Fonseka as their common presidential candidate.
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NLF leader Karunaratne to contest presidential election

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 18:20 GMT]
Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne, leader of the New Left Front (NLF), Wednesday announced his candidature for the forthcoming Presidential election. He disclosed his decision at a media briefing held in Colombo. Meanwhile, General Sarath Fonseka, former Sri Lanka Army commander and the Chief of Defence Staff, said that he is to announce his future plans Thursday.
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Fonseka files FR petition seeking adequate security

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 15:22 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka, former commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of Defence Staff, Tuesday filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court seeking the court to order the government to provide adequate security and also to direct the government to allow him to stay in his official residence. He stated in the petition that he has come to court as the government is not complying with the request made by him.
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CID questions JVP weekly editor

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 November 2009, 18:44 GMT]
Chandana Sirimalwatte, editor of Sinhala weekly “Lanka” was questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka Police Monday for about two and a half hours over the news report on the alleged plot to kill General Sarath Fonseka by the government by deploying a woman suicide bomber.
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Tamil, Muslim political parties find their table in Zurich

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 15:10 GMT]
Widely speculated as a drama backed by ‘high-powers,’ leaders of most of the Tamil and Muslim political parties in the island of Sri Lanka are meeting for the first time in Zurich, Switzerland, between Thursday and Saturday. The move is said to be for ‘extracting’ a joint proclamation of them necessary for further power manoeuvres in the island. A couple of years ago it was such a behind-the-scene move of some powers that made most of these parties except the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to rally behind Mahinda Rajapaksa and pledge support to him in the war that brought in disaster to Tamils, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.
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Fonseka instructed to vacate official residence on short notice

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 November 2009, 10:35 GMT]
Retired Chief of Defence Staff and former SLA Commander General (retd) Sarath Fonseka is facing difficulty in securing a new residence in a safe location after the Sri Lankan defence authorities have given him near zero time to vacate his official residence in Colombo, sources close Fonseka said.
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Roshan Gunatilake appointed as new CDS

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 November 2009, 15:58 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka relinquished his post as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Monday and Sri Lanka Air Force Chief Roshan Gunatilake assumed duties as the new CDS. Meanwhile, heads of the three armed forces did not attend the farewell ceremony accorded to General Sarath Fonseka Monday at Army Headquarters.
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Fonseka resigns

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 November 2009, 10:02 GMT]
General Sarath Fonseka, the Chief of Defence of the Sri Lanka Army on Thursday resigned from his post, informed sources in Colombo said.
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General Sarath Fonseka returns home

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 November 2009, 08:16 GMT]
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Sarath Fonseka arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport from United States of America Thursday and was immediately driven away under tight security, an airport official said. "He arrived this morning in a commercial flight and was escorted out of the airport by his security convoy," the official added.
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Fonseka flees US

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 13:19 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army chief, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka fled the United States cutting short his planned stay in the US to avoid being questioned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over warcrimes under his command, according to an AFP report. "Mr Fonseka's future chances of retiring to the US are now in jeopardy, and consequent developments in other countries of the world, except the rights violator nations, may make him a fugitive," legal sources in Washington said. Meanwhile, incriminating, anonymous, hearsay evidence has surfaced on the activities of his son-in-law, Danuna Tillakaratne, on making weapons deals from Oklahoma. Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based pressure group, said yesterday that TAG will be preparing a detailed document after further research on this matter for possible use by the US law enforcement authorities.
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British MPs hail US initiative on Sri Lanka warcrimes

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 November 2009, 05:17 GMT]
Joining international calls for a full independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, a group of British Parliamentarians Tuesday welcomed the initiatives taken by the United States in this regard and urged the UK government to support Washington’s efforts. In a statement, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) welcomed US authorities questioning of Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka over the massacre of Tamil civilians in the closing months of the war this year.
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Fonseka demands summary justice for LTTE cadres

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 November 2009, 11:45 GMT]
"We must deploy enough troops to provide security for these [resettled] areas. We must in these areas, this virus, there are still 1000’s of terrorists in IDP camps. We must identify these terrorist and destroy them. We must take them into custody and then resettle them. We must provide security in strength to these areas. I will only be happy that we finished the war we ended when I see this," said General Sarath Fonseka during a talk in a Budhist Temple in Washington D.C., according a website's English translation, before the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked for a "voluntary meeting" with the General to discuss the war-crimes alleged to be committed by Sri Lanka's military officials.
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