COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s top general, Sarath Fonseka, a war hero at home credited with crushing Tamil rebels, quit Thursday, heightening speculation he will enter politics to challenge President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“I gave my resignation. I have submitted my retirement papers,” Fonseka told reporters at a Buddhist temple he visited after sending his resignation as chief of defense staff to Rajapaksa.
Fonseka is thought to have clashed with the president and the president’s brother, who is defense secretary, in a wrangle over who should take credit for the victory over the rebels in May, which ended a bloody 37-year conflict.
After overseeing a military campaign that was dogged by allegations of serious human rights abuses, he was named chief of defense staff in July — a more ceremonial position that has no command responsibility.
Asked if he would now enter politics, Fonseka said: “I will be able to answer that the day I leave the uniform. Right now I am officer in uniform. After I retire, I will have the rights of an ordinary citizen.”
