Sri Lanka military court finds former Army chief guilty
By IANSFriday, August 13, 2010
COLOMBO - A military court here Friday found the former Army chief General Sarath Fonseka guilty of doing politics while still in uniform, Xinhua reported.
Fonseka would be accordingly stripped of all his ranks and decorations in what is known as “dishonorable discharge”, military sources said.
The verdict was read out during the military court proceedings Friday afternoon.
This was the first of two courts martial which Fonseka was subject to since his arrest Feb 8.
The proceedings began March 8 under a three-member military court bench.
Fonseka is also facing the second court martial on alleged misconduct as the chief of the Army’s tender board.
Fonseka led the Sri Lanka Army from December 2005 until November 2009.
He was credited for the Army’s victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, ending the over three decade campaign to set up a separate Tamil homeland.
He contested the Jan 26 presidential election against the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and lost convincingly. He has challenged the result in court.
