Sri Lanka's military arrested defeated presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka today on charges he conspired against the president while serving as the country's top military officer.
Gen Fonseka lost the January 26th election to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by an 18-point margin and has since accused his former commander-in-chief of rigging the vote. The government in turn has accused him of a coup and assassination plot.
The arrest caps a rapid fall from grace for the outspoken commander who was feted as a national hero after leading the army against the Tamil Tigers. He quit his military post in November to run as the candidate of a disparate opposition alliance.
Lakshman Hulugalle, director of the state-run Media Centre for National Security, said Gen Fonseka had been arrested by military police and would be tried by court-martial that will be closed to the public.
"He was having discussions with various political party leaders and the opposition to overthrow the government and president, and getting into politics and planning to divide the army while he was still serving," Hulugalle said.
Witnesses said several hundred military police had surrounded Gen Fonseka's office, which police first raided nine days ago to search for evidence of the coup plot.
"He was dragged away in a very disgraceful manner in front of our own eyes," Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem told Reuters. One of Gen Fonseka's security officers, I.P. Herath, confirmed the account.
Reuters