Irresponsible words that triggered it off
 Last December, an English newspaper came out with a thundering
headline. Quoting former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, it said the
Secretary of Defence ordered ground commanders in the battle zone to
shoot the surrendering LTTE leaders. It triggered not the truth, but a
‘truth’ LTTE sympathisers were eagerly waiting to hear.
 Thus, the start of the battle to save the esteemed status of our
motherland against international pressure! The victory Sri Lanka’s war
heroes gained over their blood, toil and tears was questioned
repeatedly. Were human rights violated? The world seems to have
forgotten to check the opinion of the average citizen of the country!
Giants of the world have missed the point that it is the public which is
the main component of a country.
Sarath Fonseka did not stop there. He continued his rampage, no
thoughts about wounding the hearts of our valiant soldiers, whom he had
commanded only a few months ago. Suddenly, he backtracked and started
clarifying his comments. Yet, the damage done was irreversible. The
whole world started talking about human rights violations allegedly
committed during the last phase of the war.
To Sri Lankans, the heroes of the Armed Forces were icons of true
patriotism. Sri Lanka has always treated men who saved the land with
great honour and at times, to the ordinary man, they became godly
protectors of the nation. not a word was spoken against them.
They were the icons of goodwill against evil. It is those heroes who
shaped the future of the country and the next generation. They inspired
a nation. Soldiers saved the land from terrorists in the name of the
people of this country.
However, the lust for power has inspired certain people to give up
whatever patriotic feelings they once had in their hearts. Today, Sarath
Fonseka, Member of Parliament, is willing to be a material witness
against his own soldiers. At the same time he is agreeing to take the
responsibility for all incidents that took place during the war. He says
“I will take full responsibility.”
The freedom we enjoy today is a dream the people had for over three
decades. Certain characters may generously make their comments. History
will mark them as well. Yet, when it comes to issues of national
interest, those words would sandwich the ordinary man between the local
powers and the international arena.
Here we produce some of the contradictory statements made by Sarath
Fonseka over the past few months.
The greatest betrayal?
Following Fonseka’s fabricated ‘white flag’
drama, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Government
of Sri Lanka in January 2010 that he is considering the appointment of a
Commission of Experts to advise him further and to take measures to
address possible violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law.
| Fonseka to
‘testify on war crimes’
Sri Lanka’s former military commander says that he is
prepared to give evidence in an international court on war
crimes charges against Sri Lanka. Sarath Fonseka, speaking
to journalists in Colombo said, “I am not going to save
anyone who has committed war crimes”.
“I am definitely going to reveal what I
know, what I was told and what I heard. Anyone who has
committed war crimes should definitely be brought into
Courts,” Fonseka said.
“Those who reveal the truth are not
traitors”, he added.
(February 8, 2010)
|
| Gota ordered them to
be shot - Fonseka
Sarath Fonseka said Defence Secretary
Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed a key ground commander in the
North that all LTTE leaders must be killed and not allowed
to surrender.
The then Army Commander said he had no
information communicated to him in the final days of the war
that three key LTTE leaders had opted to surrender to Sri
Lanka’s Armed Forces as the battle drew to a bloody finish.
“Later, I learnt that Basil had conveyed
this information to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa -
who in turn spoke with Brigadier Shavendra Silva, Commander
of the Army’s 58th Division, giving orders not to
accommodate any LTTE leaders attempting surrender and that
“they must all be killed.”
Fonseka said it was Basil Rajapaksa
together with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who
through foreign intermediaries, conveyed a message back to
the LTTE leaders who wished to surrender to walk out
carrying a piece of white cloth. “It was their idea,” he
said.
General Fonseka maintained that Nadesan,
Ramesh and Pulidevan had been shot dead by government troops
as they advanced towards them carrying a white flag, as they
had been instructed to do.
Fonseka said he later learnt what exactly
had taken place as a result of journalists who had been
entrenched at the time with Shavendra Silva’s brigade
command. These reporters, according to Fonseka, were privy
to the telephone call received by the Army’s 58th Brigade
Commander from the Defence Secretary -”telling him to not
accommodate any LTTE surrendees but to simply go ahead and
kill them.” “ These journalists later told me what exactly
took place,” Fonseka said.
(December 12, 2009) |
| The architect of the
Greatest Betrayal
Following his controversial statement to a
newspaper that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered
the Security Forces to shoot the LTTE leaders attempting to
surrender waving white flags, the US and UN authorities
pointed their finger at Sri Lanka.
Fonseka would have done so to woo the
minority Tamil vote, but what he had sadly forgotten was the
effect his statement would have on undermining the great
achievements of our valiant Security Forces.
Though Fonseka made desperate attempts to
deny that and prove his innocence, the masses are acutely
aware of the truth.
On top of all this, Fonseka became the
architect of yet another great betrayal when he joined hands
with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) during the 2010
Presidential election. In his lust for power and aim of
becoming President at any cost, Fonseka has agreed to all
conditions of the TNA to woo the support of the Tiger-proxy
political party.
Here are some of the key conditions put
forward by the TNA, to which Fonseka has agreed.
1. Release all hardcore LTTE terrorist
leaders
2. Reduction of Army intelligence
3. Relocation of Army camps in the North
and the East
4. Removal of the High Security Zones in
Jaffna peninsula
5. Resettlement of Tamil civilians in
close proximity to Army camps
6. Merge the Northern Province and the
Eastern Province
7. Establishment of an autonomous regime
for the Tamil speaking people
8. Reduce Military strength in the North
and East
Following Fonseka’s fabricated ‘white
flag’ drama, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
informed the Government of Sri Lanka that he is considering
the appointment of a Commission of Experts to advise him
further and to take measures to address possible violations
of international human rights and humanitarian law.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky, speaking to
reporters at the UN on Friday, said that the establishment
of such a commission is currently receiving detailed
consideration by the UN Secretariat.
- Sunday Observer - January 10, 2010
|
| Fonseka denies
telling lies and committing treason
“If I cover up, if I hush up things, if I
don’t tell the truth fully, I will become a traitor.
“If I know anything about war crimes, my
duty is to expose them. That is what we are supposed to do,
as a responsible citizen, as a responsible ex-Army officer,
or as a responsible MP - we are not supposed to cover up
anything.”
- BBC (June 8, 2010) |
| Explanation demanded
Philip Alston, United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary
Executions, in the letter to the President dated December
18, 2009 demands explanations regarding the allegations made
by Fonseka that the Defence Secretary has instructed the
Commander of the 58th Brigade of the Army to shoot those
surrendering. The letter states “These allegations made by
the Commander at the time of events and subsequently Chief
of Defence Staff, (now retired) Gadihewa Sarath Chandralal
Fonseka, in an interview with a newspaper. The accounts of
journalists embedded with the SLA 58th Brigade confirm some
of the alleged circumstances of the death of Nadesan,
Pulidevan and Ramesh and their families.”
- Sunday Observer - December 27, 2009 |
| Former Sri Lanka
Army head denies war crimes
Former Sri Lankan Armed Forces Chief
Sarath Fonseka has rejected claims that the Army committed
war crimes in the final phase of the country’s civil war. He
said that there was no intentional killing of civilians.
His comments were made to reporters in
Parliament, where he was elected as an MP last month.
As an MP he has special dispensation to be
released from detention - where he has been held since
falling out with the government - to attend parliament.
The BBC’s Charles Haviland in Colombo says
that Fonseka did not make a blanket denial and took care to
stipulate that no war crimes took place to his knowledge.
Our correspondent says that the issue is
extremely sensitive for the government which this week
dismissed allegations made by the International Crisis Group
(ICG) that the military had shelled civilian targets.
The ICG accused the government of being
happy to blur the distinction between combatants and
non-combatants.
It also criticised the Tamil Tigers for
forcing civilians to stay within the war zone.
- BBC (May 20, 2010) |
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