Online petition seeks release of Sri Lankan opposition leader

Mar 1, 2010, 13:02 GMT

Colombo - The Sri Lankan opposition on Monday launched an online petition seeking the release of former army commander and opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka.

The petition was the brainchild of former chief justice Sarath N Silva and opposition politicians to protest Fonseka's detention by military police on charges of conspiracy.

The former chief justice, who supported the general in his failed bid for the presidency in January, said Fonseka's arrest on February 8 did not comply with military law.

Military regulations can only be applied to serving military officers, not those such as Fonseka who have retired from service, Silva said.

Fonseka's relatives and supporters attended the event to launch the online petition, including his wife, Anoma Fonseka, now leading the campaign to free her husband; the leader of the opposition People's Liberation Front party, Somawansa Amarasinghe; and Arjuna Ranatunga, former captain of the national cricket team.

About 1,300 people signed the petition within hours of the website going online.

The move was part of an intensification of the campaign to secure the release of the ex-army chief who spearheaded the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatist rebel group, defeating it in May after a 26-year civil war.

Soon after the end of the war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Fonseka to a more ceremonial military position, effectively demoting him from army commander and resulting in a falling-out between the two men.

Fonseka subsequently ran for president against Rajapaksa in the January 26 election, receiving 40 per cent of the vote against the incumbent's 58 per cent.

No formal charges have been filed against Fonseka, but the government claims he shared sensitive military information with the opposition while serving as army commander, a charge denied by Fonseka's family and lawyers.

Fonseka has been nominated to run in April 8 parliamentary elections as the candidate of a new political party, the Democratic National Alliance, after the opposition coalition that supported his presidential bid crumbled in the wake of his defeat in January.