India urges fair trial for former Sri Lankan army chief
* Ban Ki-moon discusses Fonseka’s arrest with President Rajapaksa
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s police used batons to disperse hundreds of supporters of losing presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka on Thursday, police and a Reuters witness said, in a second day of protests
against his arrest.
Tensions have risen on the island since former army commander Fonseka was arrested on Monday by military police on charges of engaging in politics against his president while still in uniform. “Police are beating the protesters with batons,” said a Reuters photographer at the scene of the protest in a Colombo suburb.
Fonseka had appealed to his supporters to remain calm, his wife told reporters, after visiting the former general in detention. Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa worked together in ending the 25-year war against Tamil Tiger separatists last year, but fell out soon after. The army general ran against Rajapaksa in a presidential election last month, but was roundly defeated, after which he accused his former commander-in-chief of rigging the vote. The government said Fonseka had conspired against the president and would face a court-martial. Police detained eight people following the protest on Thursday, spokesman Prashnath Jayakody said. “When the police asked them to move away from the main road they clashed with police,” he said. On Wednesday, eight people were injured in clashes between supporters of Fonseka and government activists.
Fair trial: India, meanwhile, urged Sri Lanka to follow “due process” in its prosecution of Fonseka. “As a friend and neighbour, we trust that due processes of law will be observed in democratic Sri Lanka in this matter,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. India wields considerable diplomatic influence over Sri Lanka, whose 12.5 percent minority Tamil community has close links with million of Tamils in India’s Tamil Nadu state.
UN concerned: The United Nations said on Wednesday Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed the arrest of Fonseka with the country’s president and expressed concern about events in the Asian nation. In a telephone call on Tuesday night, Ban also agreed with President Rajapaksa that Lynn Pascoe, head of the UN political department, would visit the island soon after the presidential inauguration this month, a
UN statement said.
The UN statement said Ban “expressed his concern (to Rajapaksa) about recent developments in Sri Lanka”, brought up Fonseka’s arrest and “urged the government to respect the due process of law and guarantee (Fonseka’s) personal safety”. Ban also pressed Rajapaksa to keep a commitment to make proposals for a political solution of issues with the Tamil community in the north and ensure full accountability for any human rights violations. More needs to be done to return people displaced by the fighting with the separatists to their places of origin, the UN chief said. agencies
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