Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe who attended former commander Sarath Fonseka’s book launch, lauded the accused war criminal for his “instrumental leadership” and defended his military recorded, which includes overseeing a genocide that killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.
Fonseka served as Sri Lanka’s army commander during the final years of the armed conflict, from 2005 to 2009, which oversaw a litany of war crimes, including the indiscriminate shelling of hospitals, mass executions, and sexual violence. During the final months, UN data suggests that over 70,000 Tamils were slaughtered whilst reports that as many as 169,796 people are unaccounted for.
Wickremesinghe however made use of the opportunity to laud Fonseka for being Sri Lanka's only field marshal.
“Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka holds a unique position as the only Field Marshal in the Sri Lankan Army. Beyond triumphing in military challenges, he has also navigated political challenges beyond the battlefield,” he said at the event, which was held at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo. Other accused war criminals, including Shavendra Silva, were also in attendance.
Wickremesinghe went on to tell the audience that the Sri Lankan army’s morale suffered following the failure of the Jaffna Jaya Sikuru operation. “During that period, I served as Prime Minister and faced the critical decision of who should oversee Jaffna’s transfer," he said. "By then, casualties had significantly depleted our forces. Some suggested that Jaffna required a division. At that juncture, I directed the army commander to entrust Jaffna to Sarath Fonseka. He took charge and persevered until stability was restored.”
He went on to defend Fonseka's record, claiming “War is not a game." "It entails loss of human lives and destruction of property. His leadership was instrumental in guiding the army through those challenging times.”
In 2010 Fonseka stood against Mahinda Rajapaksa during the Presidential elections but was defeated. He was then imprisoned by his political rival under charges of corruption relating to military procurements and treason. He was given a 30-month jail sentence.
In 2011 he admitted that during the armed conflict, LTTE cadres who had surrendered were summarily executed under the orders of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then acting defence secretary. Fonseka would later recant the statement and claim he was misquoted. Fonseka has since lashed out at moves towards accountability, accusing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet of harbouring LTTE sympathies.
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