Features | Sundayobserver.lk

Thanks to over six million who voted for the patriotic forces, the traitor who betrayed his Motherland was made to eat humble pie.

If Sarath Fonseka’s dream of becoming the President of Sri Lanka has come true, the country would have been pushed to a dark era. But people from all over the island were in their numbers to strengthen President Rajapaksa’s hand and easily crushed the traitor at the end.

Though the opportunistic Opposition politicians were crying out against the Government, the people saved democracy that was under the greatest threat during the last Presidential Election. If the result of the election had been otherwise, it would have been the end of democracy and the beginning of a military dictatorship. The JVP which campaigned for the abolition of the Executive Presidency would have learnt a lesson of their lives.

Fonseka was under an illusion and going by the number of people the JVP pumped for his political meetings during the Presidential Election campaign, the retired General assumed that he could be the victor. His political fantasy was decorated by people such as Mangala Samaraweera, through cooked surveys and research works, to boost the image of the New Democratic Front candidate.

All such surveys predicted an easy victory for Fonseka. But the fact that Fonseka was unaware of was that all such findings were fabrications.

Unlike President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Fonseka failed to read the pulse of the people. Fonseka assumed that there is a great force behind him and that they would carry him to the Head of State’s seat.

It seemed that Fonseka trusted political leaders around him too much. Somawansa Amarasinghe, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mangala Samaraweera, Mano Ganeshan, Rauf Hakeem and Sampanthan belonged to different political parties and had their own agendas. Fonseka failed to understand this bitter truth.

All that Wickremesinghe wanted to was to secure his position as the Leader of the Opposition and that of the UNP. But Fonseka thought that Wickremesinghe is sacrificing his candidacy in good faith.

In contrast, the JVP and its leaders had a different agenda. Somawansa Amarasinghe, Tilvin Silva and Anura Kumara Dissanayake were well aware of their fading vote base. All that they wanted was to join a camp with a larger vote base and cover their actual strength, rather weakness. They will try to do the same at the forthcoming General Election too.

Needless to talk on bankrupt politicians such as Samaraweera, Ganeshan, Hakeem and Arjuna Ranatunga. They all had different reasons to join hands with the traitor. In the end, all of them betrayed their country, but the masses taught them a bitter and an unforgettable lesson.

All those who conspired to capture power and take control at any cost should be brought before the law. Leader of the House, Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Parliament that nobody, not even a presidential candidate, can escape the law after breaking military law or election law and all the political conspirators should be brought before the law following an investigation.

Speaking during the debate to extend the emergency regulations by another month, he has said that the people had given a political slap to the Opposition including TNA, Ganeshan and Hakeem and now it is time for all to ponder on where they had made the mistake.

Referring to speeches by the Opposition, de Silva said those members made it an opportunity to devalue the remarkable victory gained by President Rajapaksa. He said that even Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe had accepted the election to be free and fair and those who claim otherwise can go before the Courts. But none of them had taken any proper action and if they were to go before Courts, the Government would cite the UNP leader as the main witness.

President Rajapaksa achieved victory at the election and the losers were the traitorous national and foreign forces and unholy alliances, he said and requested everyone to join hands with the Government led by President Rajapaksa without being misled by unholy alliances.

As Media, Information and Investment Promotion Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa has said, there had never been a more free and fair election in the country, than last month’s Presidential Polls.

All polling stations worked according to the election law. Six copies of documents about the number of votes polled were made for the information of all concerned and the count was done entirely manually. Even the UNP and Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe agreed that the election was free and fair. But to satisfy Fonseka, Wickremesinghe has now turned a cry baby.

A total of over six million voters can’t go wrong. President Rajapaksa would never have secured a thumping majority of over 1.8 million votes if he had betrayed the country. He always gave priority to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In contrast, Fonseka tried anything and everything in his unsuccessful attempt to become the President. He fabricated a story on that infamous ‘white flag incident’ in which he alleged that the Defence Secretary gave orders to kill surrendering LTTE leaders. In saying so, he not only disclosed sensitive military secrets, but also fabricated a story to present a strong case to take undue advantage. But what he conveniently forgot was the damage he is doing to the Security Forces.

Fonseka’s secret pact with TNA too was a decisive factor. The masses always suspected the hidden agenda of the Fonseka-Sampanthan alliance and their joint plans to undermine the great achievements of the Security Forces with supreme sacrifices.

True, that Fonseka was a part of the humanitarian operation and commanded the Army during that time. But his lust for power and determination to become the President at any cost, has apparently transformed himself to a totally new person who is ready to even betray the country and its valiant Security Forces.

Time is now opportune for Fonseka to make a public apology for the ‘sins’ he has committed and surrender as the law of the land should always be supreme.

Conspiracy to assassinate President:

Thirty-seven in custody

by Sarath MALALASEKARA

The Special Police Squad led by a Senior DIG investigating the conspiracy to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several others have detained 37 suspects, including a Brigadier, a Colonel, several Army deserters and four civilians under Emergency Regulations, pending the completion of investigations.

Twenty three Army personnel including deserters were taken into custody after breaking open a door of Sarath Fonseka’s office in Colombo, Police said.

Police had to break open the door as there was no response from the persons inside the room.

Investigations revealed that the arms and cash found in a temple at Maradana had been trans ported to the temple from Fonseka’s Colombo office.

Police have also taken two Tamil persons into custody in connection with supplying arms which were found in the temple.

A Rs. 800,000 contract had been given to supply arms and an advance of Rs. 150,000 had been paid, Police said.

Investigations also revealed that the person who booked 70 rooms in a hotel in Colombo had not given the correct name and address to hotel owners.

The special Police Squad had taken several motorcycles and a Volvo car used by Army deserters in to custody.

Some motor cycles had forged number plates while the motor cycles had not been registered with the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (RMV).

The special squad are investigating to ascertain the person who gave 500 mobile telephones to Fonseka’s office in Colombo to be used during the elections.

The special squad are also investigating to ascertain whether these conspirators had any connection with the LTTE.

The special police squad conducting investigations are assisted by the three Forces.

Hotel Management asked to explain

Tourism Minister Achala Jagoda last week summoned the Management of the Cinnamon Lake Hotel to his Ministry and demanded an explanation for letting 70 rooms of the hotel to Sarath Fonseka and others who were planning a conspiracy on the night of the Presidential Election.

He said after 30 years of war, when Sri Lanka was the only country to rise from a conflict, an incident of this nature could easily have had grave consequences to the country’s tourist industry.

Did Fonseka pick Cinnamon Lakeside
Hotel to be his Secretariat in transition?

The Minister had told the representatives of the Management that it should have acted with more responsibility to find out as to why such a large number of rooms were booked by Fonseka and the rest and bring this to the notice of Defence authorities particularly given the political climate that prevailed at the time. According to the information they received, the group was preparing to cause mayhem, bringing JVP supporters to Colombo to pull the country back to another dark era.

The Minister said had there been an incident such as a shooting inside the hotel, the news that would have been splashed in the international media would be that it was an incident involving the hotel and thus create a wrong impression about Sri Lanka.

He also pointed out that at the time when a large number of rooms in the hotel were occupied by foreigners, any untoward incident could easily have spurred tourists residing in all Colombo hotels to leave the country en masse. The Minister pointed out to the Management that they should have acted with more responsibility since it was their bounden duty to protect the good name of the country.

Meanwhile, the Management said they had no knowledge about a conspiracy being planned inside the hotel premises and that those who booked the 70 rooms paid the money up front. They also expressed their regret that the incident took place in their hotel adding that several employees have been interdicted in this connection while a full scale investigation is being carried out.

Anti-national elements should be arrested - Keheliya

The Government would not hesitate to arrest anyone whose conduct would be detrimental to national security, Defence spokesman and Foreign Employment Promotion Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

The Minister said anyone who engaged in campaigns with ulterior motives and posed a threat to the country’s national security and sovereignty by sending false messages via mobile phones and other acts would be arrested forthwith and be dealt with according to the law.

Minister Rambukwella added that the Government had received information about people engaged in such anti-national campaigns and investigations are under way.

He said the Government was bound by its duty by the people to take action against those who were a threat to national security.

Fonseka’s Colombo office closed; search yields documents

by K.T. Rajasingham

According to the latest information, Sarath Fonseka who was the common Opposition candidate in the last Presidential election, has closed down his office located near Royal College in Colombo.

Reasons for the closure of the office is yet to be known.

In the meantime, police raided his office to search for Army deserters, illegal arms and illegal documents.

A spokesman told Asian Tribune that the intended raid by the Police was somehow or the other leaked to those in the office and they have vanished with illegal arms in their possession before the Police team could reach the office.

According to a police officer, the Police team was able to recover some important documents and CDs and the police is going through those documents.

Asian Tribune has learnt that police has detained more than 40 retired Army personnel, Army deserters and absentees.

The following is the list of some of the former Army officers who have been detained for questioning:

Major Mallika Aratchie, Major Jodipilli, Major Upali Jayanetti, Captain Kudalagama, Captain Dissanayake and 2nd Lieutenant Samarakoon.

According to an Army source, these officers had been discharged from the Army on disciplinary grounds and their services were no longer required by the Army.

He added that Sarath Fonseka enlisted all the bad eggs and paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 50,000 to a deserted soldier while the officers were paid Rs. 100,000 or more according to their previous Army ranks to bring down an elected government.

In the meantime, a police source told Asian Tribune that when the police team went to retrieve the CCTV recordings of the two hotels, where Fonseka’s people were staying on January 26 and 27, it was found that the recordings were erased.

Fonseka’s list for key positions was ready, but not him

by K.T. Rajasingham

Everything was designated; who should be eased out from positions being occupied; and even the names of persons to be appointed in key positions in the new administration were ready.

That is on Sarath Fonseka emerging victorious in the recent Presidential Elections, but that was not to be! Alas, the bride was ready; the groom never showed up!

The list of names of those persons marked for key positions in the new regime is surfacing. Fonseka was shrewd in this that the plum positions were marked for his men. The transition team was handled by Senaka Arnold Haripriya de Silva alias Captain Shah Silva who was the Private Secretary to Sarath Fonseka during the Presidential election. He was to take over the position as Secretary to the President, the post presently held by Lalith Weeratunga. Though many of the portfolios in Fonseka’s ‘dream’ administration were to be determined by the leaders of the UNP, JVP, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana Wing), Western Peoples Front and the TNA, the key posts were marked to be controlled by Sarath Fonseka himself.

Accordingly, he was planning to control the Defence agencies of the country such as the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police.

With this in mind, according to an intelligence report, a retired Major General, whom Fonseka originally recommended to be his successor as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, was to be appointed to the all important position of Secretary of Defence.

Along with him, retired Major General Upali Edirisinghe was to be appointed as the Additional Secretary, Defence. Either Major General J.J.P.S.T. Liyanage or Major General G.P.R. De Silva were earmarked to be the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army. The latest detail was that Major General Anton Wijendra (Retd) was to be appointed as Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister. Courtesy: Asian Tribune

Shocking facts emerge on conspiracy to topple Govt

The conspiracy to topple the Sri Lanka Government by retired Army Generals and officers begins to unravel as the police go deeper into the investigation. Recently, Retired Major General Upali Edirisinghe was arrested in this connection.

Asian Tribune has learnt that he is being interrogated by the CID. Yesterday, the police summoned 10 serving commandos in the army and were questioning them.

Today, more commandos and troops in the Sinha Regiment are expected to be questioned.

Asian Tribune learnt that when the police questioned Brigadier D.C. Keppetiwalane, it was revealed that he met Asoka Thoradeniya on January 6, at his office to discuss the conspiracy.

Thoradeniya was a Brigadier and Master General of Ordnance and he retired as a Major General.

At present Thoradeniya is the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

It is alleged, according to the investigation, that Thoradeniya was the link between the serving Army officials and the conspirators.

Brigadier Keppetiwalane was recently arrested at his house in Panadura and held by the Police for investigation regarding a murder.

Courtesy: Asian Tribune

High drama in court

High drama in the Gokaralla Magistrate’s Court was reported when the police moved to take into custody under the Detention Order, 25 suspected who were arrested on January 25, when they were travelling in a bus to an undisclosed destination.

Gokarella Police who arrested them kept them under detention. When questioned, it was found that 13 of them were retired Army men and those who had resigned from the Army.

On further questioning, they told the police that they were kept on stand by, awaiting orders from Retired Colonel Sujit Jayasekera, (an aide of Sarath Fonseka), a former brigade commandant of the Commando Forces of the Sri Lanka Army, who prematurely retired from the Army.

The 25 persons were produced yesterday before the Gokeralla Magistrate’s Court and the Court was told of the detention order signed by the Secretary to Defence to take them under police custody, as the police suspects that they might have links to the conspiracy to topple the Government.

A panel of lawyers who appeared for the arrested men demanded the Detention Order and the Police, in Colombo faxed the copy of the Order to the Courts, but the Defendants lawyers disputed the faxed copy and demanded to see the original detention order.

Subsequently, the Magistrate postponed the case to Monday and ordered the suspects to be kept in remand prison.

Asian Tribune learnt that the police has already recorded the statement of Retired Colonel Sujit Jayasekera and is now going through his statement.

In the meantime, police is now searching for the Retired Major General Sunil Silva. According to police, they searched for him at his house in Thumbovila, Piliyandala and found the house locked and Silva and his wife missing.

The retired Maj. Gen. Sunil Silva was the coordinating secretary to Sarath Fonseka during his election campaign.

While he was wanted for questioning on many issues, the latest, according to the police, was in connection with the assassination of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga.

The Police has already arrested serving Brigadier Duminda Keppetiwalana regarding the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunga. Brigadier Keppetiwalana served the former Army chief Sarath Fonseka as military assistant.

After the arrest of Brig. Keppetiwalana, Sarath Fonseka contacted the wife of Brig. Keppetiwalana, but details of the conversation Fonseka had with Brig. Keppetiwalana wife were not available.

Lasantha Wickrematunga had been a fierce critic of the corruption and extra-judicial killings in the country and former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka.

He was shot dead in a drive-by shooting by motorcycle gunmen as he drove to his office.

Asian Tribune learnt that the police has already questioned many people on the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunga.

It is further learnt, according to an unconfirmed report, that another person who was said to be directly involved in the shooting of the Sunday Leader editor has been arrested.According to police, they have already arrested 36 persons in connection with the conspiracy to topple the Government and attempt to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members.

Courtesy: Asian Tribune

The Greatest Betrayal – 8

People defeated traitors