Sri Lanka's general hits rocky campaign trail
By Munza Mushtaq
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's war hero, former army commander General Sarath Fonseka,
who steered the bloody victory against a ruthless rebel outfit this year, on
Sunday officially declared that he was taking incumbent President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, his ex-boss, head-on at a presidential election slated for January
26, 2010.
However, as Colombo exploded with the sound of fire crackers and as television
channels broadcast the war veteran's announcement for the bid, the road towards
political supremacy in the South Asian island nation will be a rocky one,
political analysts warn.
Fonseka, who oversaw the end of 25 years of war against the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also served as the chief
of defense staff but quit in mid-November following a spat with the president.
His entry into politics and bid for the presidency could now split Rajapaksa's
support base, especially among the majority who are happy that the conflict is
over.
"I have decided to contest in the presidential poll as a common candidate of
the opposition parties, on their request," the 58-year-old Fonseka told a
packed news conference in the capital, Colombo, on Sunday.
"Sri Lanka suffered violence at the hands of terrorists and has been suffering
too long. Now we have done away with terrorism. But now you can't leave the
country in the hands of a dictator," he said, referring to the president, who
is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Fonseka vowed to ensure democracy, social justice and media freedoms if elected
and elaborated that "the peace dividend is not being achieved by the people of
this country due to corruption which is at its peak”.
"I have never lost a battle and I can win this one too," said an optimistic
Fonseka, renowned for his ruthless win-at-all costs mentality.
Fonseka, who accused Rajapaksa of sidelining him over unfounded coup fears, has
maintained that he was both disgusted and disillusioned at the way the
president and his government treated him.
Despite his optimism, the ex-military chief who served a lengthy 40 years in
the army has expressed his apprehension to local media, saying he believed he
could be assassinated by "certain powerful forces" during the run-up to the
election.
"They initially reduced my security to 25 from a contingent of 600 personnel. I
protested. They then increased it to 60 infantrymen. Again I protested and now
they have assigned me a mere 12 commandos - not men that I handpicked. They are
all new men. They could be an assassination squad - maybe they are trying to
assassinate me," he told the English weekly, Sunday Leader.
He claimed that it was not only the LTTE that was out to kill him but also
criminals who engaged in politics.
Fonseka's repeated pleas to Rajapaksa for a security boost have been denied,
with the president merely stating that such a boost was not necessary since he
was now a "civilian".
The former army commander was critically injured during a suicide attack in
April 2006. He has meanwhile petitioned the Supreme Court to order the
government to provide him with a massive security contingent.
Fonseka already has the backing of the main two opposition parties - the United
National Party (UNP) and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which will
likely give him a further boost.
According to an analyst from the National Peace Council, Jehan Perera, the
entry of Fonseka into the political fray has caused apprehension in the
government and he will prove to be a serious challenger to president Rajapaksa.
However, the president was recently quoted telling a breakfast meeting held at
his official residence, the Temple Trees in Colombo, that he saw no challenge
in the so-called common candidate in the caliber of Fonseka.
"I respected the right of the people to call for elections and that is why I
sacrificed two years of my first term heeding the voice of the people," he
said.
Rajapaksa has completed only four years of his six-year term, which is due to
end in November 2011.
Despite the president's declaration, the government has penalized Fonseka both
formally and informally. Apart from slashing his security, certain government
officials are also allegedly blocking Fonseka and his family from leasing a new
home, with certain house owners being threatened with death if they lease to
the former army chief.
Groups with the backing of government ministers were also instrumental in
hooting and pelting stones at Fonseka's vehicles when he was recently on his
way to perform religious obligations at a temple in a Colombo suburb.
Meanwhile, despite the hype generated over the entry of Fonseka into the
political fray, the majority of the Tamil parties are still undecided on
whether or not to extend support to Fonseka, due to his dicey past.
The one-time pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA), with a representation of
22 members in the 225-seat parliament, believes the Tamil community cannot
support either Rajapaksa or Fonseka because they were both behind alleged
discrimination against Tamils, in the form of carrying out human-rights
violations, a charge outright denied by both parties.
"Do you think the Tamil community can vote for either of these two candidates?"
TNA parliamentarian, Suresh Premachandran, queried.
He alleged that both Rajapaksa and Fonseka had suppressed Tamils.
"Both these candidates must take responsibility for the some 300,000 persons,
most of whom still languish in displacement camps, so voting for either
candidate is virtually impossible for the Tamil community," he told Asia Times
Online from Colombo.
The majority of the Tamil parties are now looking at introducing a common Tamil
candidate.
They maintain that this may not necessarily mean that a minority member would
become Sri Lanka's president. Instead, what several Tamil parties, led by the
Democratic People's Front, are attempting to do is give the minority voters a
choice other than voting for Rajapaksa or Fonseka.
Munza Mushtaq is a Colombo-based journalist.
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