SRI LANKA’S recently re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday dissolved the Parliament and as expected called a new general election, to capitalize on his convincing win in last month’s contest for the presidency. The surprise, however, has been Monday’s arrest of the retired army general, Sarath Fonseka, the man who had challenged him for his country’s leadership and has protested the result in part because he claims Rajapaksa’s campaign made unfair use of the media.
Fonseka, the soldier who finally crushed the Tamil Tigers last year is now in custody accused of plotting a coup to overthrow Rajapaksa. A number of senior officers has also been dismissed accused of being part of the plot.
The oddity is the timing of events. If the president believed that his security forces had forestalled an attempt to oust him, the last thing that the country needs is the uncertainty of a general election. It would clearly have been far better if the Parliament had continued to sit, to reinforce the president’s authority until there was no further danger.
Furthermore, Fonseka was arrested at a strategy meeting being held by opposition politicians apparently to plan their campaign for the expected elections. Whatever the reality behind any plot, the administration’s actions seem inept. Were a coup imminent, it ought to have been possible to isolate Fonseka and confine any doubtful units in the armed forces to barracks while mobilizing troops whose loyalty was certain.
Instead the man who resigned as army commander because he did not believe Rajapaksa was according him full credit for the victory over the Tamil Tigers, was seized while seemingly planning a further political campaign. It looks very much like strong arm tactics to take out and discredit a still threatening political opponent. It might also be asked why if Fonseka really was planning a military takeover, he did not try it while he still commanded the army until seven months ago, rather than returning voluntarily to civilian life and challenging Rajapaksa at the ballot box.
There is a further dark side to this affair. Fonseka has alleged the government ordered the murder of captured Tamil Tigers in the closing weeks of the struggle. He was supposedly prepared to give evidence to this effect to investigators during a trip to the US last November. Aides say that he changed his mind and cut short his visit after an appeal from the president. It may of course equally be that Fonseka, as commander in chief was himself implicated in what was clearly a no-holds-barred end to the conflict, from which international observers were kept well away.
There is a series of uncertainties and it would be wrong to spring to judgment either way. However, what is certain is how Rajapaksa’s actions look to the outside world. His administration will need the help and support of the international community to rebuild a stable Sri Lanka after 37 years of conflict. Divisions throughout the country need to be healed with inclusive and far-sighted policies. Many foreign governments may doubt he is embarking on the project wisely.
