The United States voiced worries that the arrest late Monday of former general Sarath Fonseka would worsen divisions on the island, which last year emerged from a bloody 37-year ethnic war.

"We are following the situation closely and we have concerns that any action be in accord with Sri Lankan law," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told AFP.

"There is a tremendous need for the government of Sri Lanka to work to overcome the fissures that exist within its society," he said.

"It has to be very cautious that any actions it takes are designed to heal the split within Sri Lankan society, not to exacerbate it," he said. More...Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 8 21:04:11 EST 2010

Sarath Fonseka, who as the top general helped defeat the Tamil Tiger rebels, was forcibly detained after objecting to his arrest, Opposition politician Rauff Hakeem told The Associated Press.

Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa were once strong allies who combined to end the country’s 25-year civil war last May. But they subsequently fell out, and Fonseka quit his post. They contested a bitter election last month for the presidency that Rajapaksa won by 17 percentage points, according to official results. More...Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 8 19:11:13 EST 2010

Though nearly two weeks have passed since the January 26 presidential election, there is no coherent explanation from either Gen (retd.) Fonseka or the Opposition leaders who rooted for him on what prompted them to leave their offices and homes and hire a whole floor of a five-star hotel. Their account that it was meant to pre-empt an operation by the government to round up the General and all the other leaders, only leads to more questions.

If the intelligence agencies were keeping vigil outside their offices and homes, how did the Opposition leaders assume that they could move into the hotel premises without being noticed? More...Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 8 19:14:59 EST 2010