Sarath Fonseka’s rank as General with Military Honours and Civic Rights will be restored within Hours of Becoming President Pledges Maithripala Sirisena.

Posted by on

Common opposition candidate Maithripala today said he would restore civic rights and all military decorations of former Army commander and Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka within hours if he is elected as the Executive President.

“I will restore all rights and military decorations of former army commander within hours of my election,” he said.

Mr. Sirisena gave this assurance at a Democratic Party meeting which was held at Solis Hall this morning. The assurance was given when a member of the Democratic Party requested that Fonseka be given all his rights and decorations once Mr. Sirisena is elected.

The common candidate Sirisena said he and several others of the UPFA were not in favour of all harassments meted out on Mr. Fonseka but had to be silent

Sirisena alleged that Gen. Fonseka, who was one of the main architects of the victory over the LTTE, had been tortured, humiliated and made to suffer by the Rajapaksas though the general had made a lot of sacrifices in spite of three attempts on his life. However, they hadn’t been able to silence battle hardened officer and in the end the oppressors had given in.

“The Rajapaksas disparaged the general and attempted to paint a black picture of the war hero, but they could not hoodwink the masses and today General Fonseka is venerated by the members of the security forces and masses,” the former minister said.

Addressing the media after talks held with Fonseka yesterday, Sirisena said that although attempts had been made to erase the former General’s role in the victory over the LTTE, the retired soldier remains forever in the hearts of the people.

“Whether 100 years from now or 1000 years from now, history will remember that there was a brutal terrorist named Prabhakaran in Sri Lanka.

The record books will note that the hero of the battle to defeat him, the soldier, was Sarath Fonseka,” Sirisena charged.

Fonseka was stripped of his rank and military honours after he was arrested following the 2010 presidential poll in which he contested President Mahinda Rajapaksa and was indicted on several charges.

Sirisena told journalists that he had agreed to all the proposals put forward by Fonseka’s party to work together in the presidential poll.


(Compiled from Newspaper reports)