The European Commission, which oversees the 27-nation bloc's trade policy, said an investigation had revealed significant shortcomings in Sri Lanka's implementation of three UN human rights conventions linked to preferential trade tariffs.

The trade benefits, worth about 100 million euros ($136.1 million) a year to Sri Lanka, will be withdrawn in six months' time unless EU concerns are addressed, the Commission said.

"I hope Sri Lanka will sit with us over the next six months in order to agree upon a set of measures that will result in rapid... progress in relation to the human rights shortcomings we have identified," EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement. More...Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 15 19:31:53 EST 2010

Fonseka, detained in a navy facility, is being accused of violating the Military Act while being army commander, and is expected to face a court martial. On the morning of his arrest, Fonseka told a media conference that he was unafraid to reveal evidence of alleged war crimes that took place early in 2009, when government forces militarily crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The arrest of a once revered war hero, who garnered 40.15 per cent of the national vote on Jan. 26, as opposed to Rajapakse's 57.88 per cent, triggered protests in some Sri Lankan cities. More...Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 15 19:34:38 EST 2010