Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa ‘feared coup’ after defeat of Tamil Tigers

President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was so afraid of a military coup after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers that he warned India to place its troops on high alert as recently as last month, according to the former head of the Sri Lankan Army. General Sarath Fonseka, who led the victorious campaign against the Tigers only to be sidelined two months later, made the allegation in a bitter resignation letter, seen by The Times yesterday.
General Fonseka, who was switched to the largely ceremonial role of Chief of Defence Staff in July, said the Government alerted India on October 15 that a coup was imminent, “unnecessarily placing Indian troops on high alert”.
“This action tarnished the image and reputation gained by the Sri Lankan Army as a competent and professional organisation capable of defeating a terrorist group,” he said.
After resigning, General Fonseka is now expected to challenge Mr Rajapaksa in a presidential election due by April.




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His letter drew no immediate response from Indian officials, while a Sri Lankan minister said only that the Government would study its contents. “The President has ordered a study of [Fonseka’s] letter and we will make a suitable response,” Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Human Rights Minister, told reporters.
Although the letter does not specify what action Mr Rajapaksa wanted India to take, the implication was that its troops should intervene in case of a coup.
India sent peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in 1987, but they were soon drawn into the fight with the Tigers, and withdrew in 1990. The Tigers then assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, in 1991.
The General’s letter reveals for the first time the rift that developed between the Army and Government after the end of the 26-year civil war in May.
It also adds to the charged political atmosphere in Sri Lanka since General Fonseka emerged as a potential challenger to Mr Rajapaksa, who has been riding a wave of popularity since the war ended.
General Fonseka is considered a national hero by most of the ethnic Sinhalese majority community and is therefore likely to split the ruling alliance’s support base in the elections.
Although he has a reputation as an outspoken Sinhalese nationalist, he criticised Mr Rajapaksa for failing to make peace with the ethnic Tamil minority since the Tigers’ defeat.
“Your excellency’s Government has yet to win the peace, in spite of the fact the Army under my leadership won the war,” he said

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British MPs hail US initiative on Sri Lanka warcrimes

Joining international calls for a full independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, a group of British Parliamentarians Tuesday welcomed the initiatives taken by the United States in this regard and urged the UK government to support Washington’s efforts. In a statement, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) welcomed US authorities questioning of Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka over the massacre of Tamil civilians in the closing months of the war this year

British MPs call for suspension of GSP+, Sri Lanka's removal from Commonwealth

Several British Members of Parliament participated in a debate on Sri Lanka's internment camps, Wednesday 28 October for nearly 3 hours starting from 2:30 p.m. Many MPs cited the inhumane conditions under which more than 250,000 Tamil civilians are being kept in military supervised internment camps in Sri Lanka and called for the termination of GSP+ trade benefits and suspension of Sri Lanka from British Commonwealth. Joan Ryan, the Labour MP for Enfield North and a vice chair of the Labor party, initiated the debate. Full video is attached below. Press play button to activate the video:

HRW: US report ignites call for war crimes investigations against Sri Lanka

The US State Department war crimes report to the Senate submitted as mandated by the explanatory statement to the US Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009, detailed day-by-day account in a format similar to a "model indictment," and said the alleged incidents in the final stages of war may constitute "violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) or crimes against humanity and related harms." Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, "[g]iven Sri Lanka's complete failure to investigate possible war crimes, the only hope for justice is an independent, international investigation," and added, "concerned governments should use the US State Department report as a clarion call for an international investigation. There are no more excuses for inaction."

The report while not reaching any legal conclusions listed Common Article 3 of Geneva Conventions, statutes of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and Rwanda (ICTR), and the statutes of International Criminal Court (ICC) as "useful foundation for reviewing the conduct" described in the State Department's report.

Legal experts pointed out that under basic rules of international criminal law, the US has to give the GoSL the opportunity to investigate itself credibly, and that, further steps are warranted by the international community, if and when the GOSL fails or refuses to do so.

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