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US wants Sri Lanka to follow rule of land in Sarath Fonseka's arrest
toi,
feb 23.
WASHINGTON: A top Obama Administration official said the US is not satisfied with the manner in which the Rajapaksa government has handled the issue former Sri Lankan Army chief General Fonseka's arrest and hoped that Colombo would follow the rules of the land in this case.
"So far I think it has been less than we might have hoped for, but we have certainly encouraged the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that he is charged promptly, as you said, and that everything is handled in accordance with Sri Lankan law as they move forward," the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told BBC.
Blake, who was the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka earlier, refrained to make any comment on the charges against General Fonseka saying that he has not seen them.
"We have encouraged the government to make public as quickly as possible what those charges are," he said.
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Published: Mon Feb 22 22:19:09 EST 2010
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SRI LANKA: Post-Election Protests Fail to Get Wide Support
IPS,
Feb 23.
COLOMBO, Feb 22, 2010 (IPS) - Street protests that erupted in Colombo and other cities following the Feb. 8 arrest of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka have yet to gain wider support from non-political groups.
The protests did in fact begin on a fiery tone when around 2,500 pro- Fonseka protestors chased down by pro-government supporters braved tear gas and water cannons to hold their first rally near the country’s highest court on Feb. 10. They vowed to continue the movement until the former Army commander is released.
Fonseka was arrested on charges of corruption and attempts to topple the government while he was in public office.
The government has maintained that there is no political motivation behind the arrest of Fonseka. "We have repeatedly said that there is no political motive behind this.
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Published: Mon Feb 22 20:22:18 EST 2010
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US can't afford to disengage with Lanka
rediff,
feb 23.
A leading Washington, DC-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notwithstanding the arrest of retired Sri Lankan Army General Sarath Fonseka who challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse [ Images ] at the recent elections, and the country's poor record on human rights and its treatment of several thousand internally displaced persons, has said that the United States cannot afford to disengage with the island nation.
In a paper titled 'Sri Lanka's Election: A Clear Mandate,' the CSIS South Asia bureau, which is headed by former diplomat Teresita Schaffer, who served for nearly three decades in South Asian capitals, including a stint as US ambassador to Sri Lanka, said, Rajapakse's recent victory -- which has been called into question in certain quarters with Fonseka alleging it was rigged 'presents an opportunity to rebuild a nation devastated by a protracted, separatist war.'
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Published: Mon Feb 22 20:20:37 EST 2010
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