Defeated presidential candidate Fonseka to be court-martialled

Colombo: Sri Lanka's government yesterday said defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was "hell-bent" on betrayal and would be court-martialled on charges of conspiring against the president.

Fonseka lost by an 18 percentage point margin to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a January 26 election, after which he accused his former commander-in-chief of vote-rigging, vowing to challenge the results in court and stand for parliament.

Testifying

Sri Lanka troops arrested their former chief on Monday. The government said the general, who quit the army in November to enter the presidential race, would be tried for conspiring with opposition politicians while still serving.

Sri Lanka's Government Information Department yesterday said Fonseka's comments to reporters, quoted by the BBC, that he would testify in a war crimes probe proved his disloyalty to the troops he led to defeat the Tamil Tigers rebels and end a 25-year war.

"This report of BBC confirms beyond doubt that the retired general was hell-bent on betraying the gallant armed forces of Sri Lanka who save the nation from the most ruthless terrorist group in the world," the statement said.

The state-run Media Centre for National Security said Fonseka was being investigated for "certain fraudulent acts and other military offences committed by him". It said a detailed statement would be issued later.

Sri Lanka's stock market, which was one of 2009's best performers with a 125 per cent return, fell 1.3 per cent in early trading. It has shrugged off much of the post-election sparring, gaining steadily since Rajapaksa was proclaimed the winner.

"People are still in shock," said Prashan Fernando, executive director of Acuity Stockbrokers. "But we expected a market correction and the fall cannot be attributed to Fonseka's arrest."

The general had stood with Rajapaksa in May after the Tamil Tigers' defeat, but fell out later over accusations of planning a coup.