Sarath Fonseka

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Sarath Fonseka (2010)

Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka , short Sarath Fonseka ( Sinhalese සරත් ෆොන්සේකා , Tamil சரத் ​​பொன்சேகா ; * December 18, 1950 in Ambalangoda ), is a politician and former general from Sri Lanka .

military

Fonseka joined the Army of Sri Lanka in peacetime in 1970 . After the outbreak of civil war in Sri Lanka , he fought on the side of government forces against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . From December 6, 2005 to July 15, 2009, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Army. During this time the final phase of the civil war fell, which ended with a complete victory of the government troops over the Tamil Tigers . Through this victory, Fonseka gained great popularity in large parts of the Sinhalese population, but also with many Tamils , who were tired of the endless state of war and the attacks on the civilian population, including by the Tamil Tigers . After Fonseka had initially worked well with President Mahinda Rajapaksa , it came to a rift, as Fonseka felt increasingly sidelined by him. He resigned from his military post on November 16, 2009 in preparation for running for the presidential election the following year.

politics

Lost presidential election against Rajapaksa

In the early presidential election on January 26, 2010 , Fonseka competed against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa, but could not prevail with 40.15% of the votes. Fonseka accused Rajapaksa of electoral fraud and wanted the election result to be challenged. Fonseka complained that Rajapaksa had manipulated the election results, but admitted that she had no evidence to back up the allegations. On February 8, 2010, Rajapaksa arrested him and accused him of plotting against the government. The next day, Rajapaksa announced early parliamentary elections.

Conviction and release

In September 2010, Fonseka was sentenced to 30 months in prison for corruption in what he and his supporters described as political. On November 18, 2011, a court sentenced him to an additional three years in prison. He was charged with making false accusations against Gotabaya Rajapaksa , Minister of Defense and brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, "spreading rumors and causing public disorder". Fonseka had claimed in an interview that Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the execution of surrendering Tamil rebels in May 2009.

On May 19, 2012, the third anniversary of the military defeat of the LTTE's Tamil rebels, Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a written order for Sarath Fonseka to be released. The United States had previously labeled him a political prisoner and repeatedly requested his release. Notwithstanding his release, he remained stripped of almost all civil rights, rank and pension entitlements. Proceedings are pending against this.

Political new beginning

After his release, Fonseka founded the Democratic Party, which was officially registered by the National Electoral Commission on April 1, 2013. Sarath Fonseka assessed this stage victory as the beginning of a new journey, the aim of which was the welfare of the state and its citizens. Even if he and his colleagues were killed, the Democratic Party must move forward to initiate the necessary political change in Sri Lanka. The blazing flame was chosen as the party's emblem.

After the opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena won the presidential election in Sri Lanka in 2015 with the support of Fonseka's Democratic Party , he announced a full rehabilitation of Fonseka. On January 21, 2015, Fonseka was fully rehabilitated by President Fonseka. On March 22, 2015, President Sirisena appointed him Field Marshal - the first in Sri Lanka - "in recognition of his services in defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)".

Web links

Commons : Sarath Fonseka  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sri Lanka President Rajapakse sworn in for second term. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 19, 2010, accessed November 19, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Department of Election: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - 2010 Official Results ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.slelections.gov.lk
  3. ↑ Early elections in Sri Lanka? Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , No. 24, January 29, 2010, p. 6
  4. ↑ Golden chance. Der Spiegel , No. 5, p. 84, February 1, 2010
  5. ↑ a b President Rajapakse dissolves parliament, February 9, 2010 , accessed on February 14, 2010
  6. ↑ Sri Lanka's ex-army chief sentenced to three years in prison. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. November 18, 2011, accessed November 18, 2011 .
  7. ↑ Sri Lanka's President orders the release of Fonseka ( memento from May 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at tagesschau.de, May 20, 2012 (accessed on May 20, 2012).
  8. ↑ Sri Lanka rehabilitates ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka. BBC News, January 21, 2015, accessed February 5, 2015 .
  9. ^ Sarath Fonseka acquitted of all charges Featured. news.lk - The Government official news portal, January 21, 2015, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  10. ↑ General Fonseka Made Field Marshal. The New Indian Express, March 22, 2015, accessed May 21, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Fonseka, Sarath
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fonseka, Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal (full name); සරත් ෆොන්සේකා (siS); சரத் ​​பொன்சேகா (taS)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sri Lankan politician and former general
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Ambalangoda