Recent Sri Lankan presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka, who was arrested on Monday, has vowed to stand as a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, his wife told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. “He won’t let anyone keep him from doing that”, she says.
 

Listen to the Newsline interview with Mrs Fonseka here:

Thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets of Colombo on Wednesday to protest against General Fonseka’s arrest. Eight people were injured in clashes with riot police.
 

Verbal clashes
The former army general and recent presidential candidate was detained by government troops on Monday following weeks of verbal clashes between him and his political opponent, President Mahinda Rajapakse, who was voted back into office two weeks ago.
 

General Fonseka is currently being held at a naval base near Colombo, according to his wife Anoma Fonseka. “He is guarded by a dozen soldiers. He can’t go anywhere and nobody can see him, except me. He’s clearly not happy with this”.
 

No warrant
A military spokesman said on Tuesday that General Fonseka had been arrested for “military offences”, but Mrs Fonseka says there was no formal warrant:

“They haven’t charged him with anything yet. There are stories in the newspapers, but officially, he doesn’t know anything”.

“He was in his office on Monday night with a number of political leaders. Suddenly, a few soldiers and a general came in and told him that he was under arrest. My husband disputed this, as he retired as a general late last year so he is now a civilian and cannot be arrested by the military. They pulled and dragged him out of the office and treated him like an animal. It’s an abduction.”

His supporters say President Rajapakse is personally responsible for the arrest.

Compensation
Mrs Fonseka explains the rift between the president and her husband, who were allies during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers in the northeast:

“After the war ended, my husband felt the government should compensate the soldiers who had fought the Tigers. He also wanted to give aid to the thousands of refugees, as they had suffered a lot. But the government did nothing and that’s why my husband left the army”.
 

Since then, the president and general Fonseka and their supporters have clashed numerous times. Dozens of people were killed in pre-election violence and since the election too.
 

On Tuesday, Sri Lankan journalist Iqbar Athas told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that the current situation may have a devastating effect on Sri Lanka’s economy. “There was going to be a climate of unlimited economic investments after the war, but these developments don’t do these investments much good, naturally”, he said.
 

Candidate
Despite the deep divide between the president and General Fonseka, the latter remains determined to make his voice heard. “He will stand as a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections”, Mrs Fonseka says. “He can be a candidate, despite the arrest. Our lawyers our now studying the matter and they are hopeful.”

President Rajapakse called for early elections on Tuesday in the wake of the political unrest. He also dissolved parliament.

“Somehow we have to go for the truth”, Mrs Fonseka says. “The people need some assurance. They don’t have that now. This is not the way to do these things.”