Rajapakse confirms ex-army chief's jail term

Sri Lanka's president confirmed a 30-month jail term for his ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, who led troops to victory over Tamil rebels and ended a decades-long civil war, officials said Thursday.

Fonseka fell out with President Mahinda Rajapakse over who should take credit for defeating the Tamil Tigers in May last year and unsuccessfully tried to unseat him in a January election.

Fonseka was found guilty at a court martial on four counts of making irregular purchases for the military when he was its commander at the height of fighting in the island's northeast.

Rajapakse approved the sentence of two-and-a-half years' "rigorous imprisonment" on Wednesday after returning from addressing the United Nations in New York, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

"The president as commander-in-chief has confirmed the court martial decision," Rambukwella told reporters. "The sentence begins from today."

A senior official who declined to be named said Fonseka could appeal to a civilian court and could also seek bail pending a hearing.

"The court martial recommended up to three years in jail, but the president has decided he will be in prison for 30 months," the official said.

Fonseka's Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party said they would appeal the sentence and accused Rajapakse of leading a political vendetta.

"It is not the court martial which is responsible for jailing General Fonseka," DNA lawmaker Tiran Alles told AFP. "It is the president who today jailed his main political opponent."

Alles said Rajapakse had ordered the imprisonment of Fonseka despite requests from the island's influential Buddhist clergy as well as other religious leaders.

Fonseka was hailed as a hero after soldiers under his command crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year. Tamil separatist leaders were killed while pinned down on the coast after a massive military offensive.
 

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