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Sri Lanka: Thousands Attend Sarath Fonseka Rally
BBC NEWS, SOUTH ASIA
February 8, 2011: opposition supporters in Sri Lanka have taken part in a demonstration in the capital Colombo marking a year of detention of the losing presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. He was a general in the Sri Lankan Army man and has run for the president against the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. After the defeat in the election, the army has detained him. In September a military court found him guilty of corruption and moved him to a prison.
About 3,000 people took part in the protest, which called for Mr Fonseka's release, a BBC correspondent says. The BBC's Elmo Fernando in Colombo says that a variety of different parties took part in the one-hour rally, which was mostly peaceful and held under heavy security.
Supporters of the left wing JVP, or People's Liberation Front, chanted anti-government slogans and carried placards demanding the release of Mr Fonseka who is serving a 30-month sentence after being convicted by a court martial.
Among those taking part in the protest, outside Welikada jail, was Mr Fonseka's wife, Anoma, who told the crowd not to give up their struggle until her husband was released.
Police closed a section of the main road outside the prison to prevent a repeat of violence on Friday when government supporters clashed with supporters of Mr Fonseka.
He is in a jail, he has lost the parliamentary seat that he won last April. Mr Fonseka still faces more court cases.
Kicking and screaming
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that 13 months ago it seemed that Mahinda Rajapaksa might have met his electoral match. Sarath Fonseka had led the army to victory over the Tamil Tigers but fell out with his former friend over who should take the glory for that victory. The fact that both men were ardent Sinhalese nationalists only made the election fight more bitter.
But as the results showed Mr Rajapaksa winning, it became clear just how much Gen Fonseka would suffer after his electoral challenge. His campaign hotel was surrounded by troops and 12 days later, he was taken into custody by military police and an officer junior to himself.
His detractors - and every government figure swiftly became one - say he was plotting a coup, and that two court martial verdicts against him show he was guilty of dabbling in politics while in uniform and corruptly securing arms deals. But Sarath Fonseka's supporters say he was detained for daring to challenge Mr Rajapaksa at the polls. The opposition says his fate points to the government's intolerance of dissent.
