Even as those votes were counted Jan. 26, hundreds of government troops surrounded a Colombo hotel where Fonseka and other opposition leaders had gathered. He was later allowed to leave the building, but the show of force foreshadowed yesterday’s arrest.
Officials have repeatedly accused Fonseka of plotting to kill Rajapaksa and overthrow the government with the help of army deserters and former military officers. Fonseka has called the allegations fabricated and vowed to push on with his political career. A number of serving officers, who the government said were considered to be a threat to national security, have been fired.
Keheliya Rambukwella, government minister, said Fonseka will be tried in a military court on charges of conspiring against the president and planning a coup.
“When he was the army commander and chief of defense staff and member of the security council, he had direct contact with opposition political parties, which under the military law can amount to conspiracy,’’ Rambukwella said. “He’s been plotting against the president while in the military . . . with the idea of overthrowing the government.’’
Hakeem said Fonseka objected to being arrested by military police instead of civilian officers, because he is no longer in the military.
The officers dragged Fonseka and his secretary into their vehicles, Hakeem said. “He was humiliated and disgraced in the way he was handled. We were just flabbergasted,’’ he said.
Since the Jan. 26 election, Fonseka has complained that the government was attempting to arrest him on trumped-up charges. Last week, security forces raided his office and arrested at least 15 of his staff.
“We have to ask why now? Why not six months ago when he was a military officer,’’ asked Jehan Perera, an analyst with the independent activist group National Peace Council.
