Insight By Sunil Kumar

June 7th 2010
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ TheƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ anxietyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ related perils of retd.Military Gen. Sarath Fonseka seem to be never ending and mainly because he does not seem to have proper direction in going about how to redeem himself and resorts to wild accusations against the Administration where more often than not he implicates himself in so doing and appears to totally lose control leaving him very vulnerable to greater ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ punitive action during the process of his incarceration.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
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Having played a major role in the victory against the Tamil Tigers albeit never singlehandedly, his ambitions instigated by some who egged him onƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ misguidedly to believe he could ursurp the incumbent President and his administration, he has used all the wrongƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ploys towards this objective.
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Furthermore many irregularities have now been revealed which was unbecoming of his status asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Maj. General of the Armed Forces now being investigated and he seems to have veritably touted capital punishment after putting his foot into a mire of insignificant, loose tongued,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ meandering towards a disentitled power, offsettingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a frying pan to the fire scenario based upon his modus operandi ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which has already landed him in jail with a court marial ongoing!
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It seems little wonder that Sri Lanka’s top defence official the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksha has within legitimate reckoning ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ threatened to hang the country’s former army chief if he cooperates with any investigation into war crimes during the civil war that ended one year ago and perhaps high time Retd. Gen Foseka either voluntarily muzzled himself from his foolish verbosity or faced the consequences which could be severe.
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Quick responses to the threat of capital punishment for treason suggested by the Defence Secretary have sprung up from various parts of the world including AFP, UK Guardian, the BBC and Yahoo newsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who have carried the story headlining its proclamation while being carecully guarded against taking any sides knowing fully well what the consequences of such an outcome might prove to be and the respectiveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ stances have ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ beenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to a greater part impartial.
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With no mincing of words Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse has ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ told the BBC’s Hardtalk programme anchored by Stephen SackurƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that Sarath Fonseka, who is currently being court-martialed on separate charges, would be executed as a traitor if he tried to expose allegedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  speculative war crimes deliberately orchestrated to discredit the Administratiion as well as himself and has probably sent shivers into the Sarath Fonseka camp as well as his supporters within the opposition who are very likey to counter the Defence Secretary’s statement yelling “foulƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ” albeit with little ground to stand on as Fonseka has openly stated tha he will co-operate with any investigations into alleged “War Crimes”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  committd by the Forces, finger pointing at the Defence Secretary when it was he himself who led and directed operations per se on the ground and used his own discretion in all relatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ matters!
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The UK Guardian hasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ quoted Defence SecretaryƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Gotabhaya RajapakseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in a BBC interviewƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that Rajapakse hasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ responded angrily to the prospect of Fonseka giving evidence at any international war crimes probe and quoted as saying “He can’t do that. He was the commander, that’s a treason andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ we will hang him if he does that” which seems well within Sri Lanka’s jurisdiction and in keeping with military statutes if held accountable according to many analysts deeming it aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  betrayal ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the country by someone who held high military office and has now chosen to speak against his nation?
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The Defence Secretary was reiterating a promise made ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by the President that the Nation’s Administration would notƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ permit any international investigation into the conduct of the armed forces on the basis that Sri Lanka is anƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  independent country fully capableƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ investigatingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  into such matters whereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ most importantlyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ thereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is noƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ provable nor tangible evidence beyond speculation by the Nation’s enemies and blinkered foreign sources whose conflicts of interest as well as vested interests bordering on biasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ stick out like sore thumbs,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ also linked to sources disgruntled by the defeat of the Tamil Tiger terrorists towards which there is a vast globalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ support of their possible resurgence consisting of Tamil diaspora and sympathisers.
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Retd. Gen.Fonseka, who is now a member of parliament, has called for an internationalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ investigation intoƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ an alleged order by the Defence Secretary to fire on innocent civiliansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and offered to ‘cooperate’ saying “I will not protect anyone, from the very top to the bottom,” which is another ludicrous misrepresentation of facts and a Faux Pas on his partƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where he seems to have forgotten that the civilians fleeing from the terrorists were fired upon by the terrorists and it was the Armed Forces who returned fire on his directive and in the final stages of the war it was a prolonged battle with the cornered terrorists who were cut down and eliminated with his directive.
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It seems more than likely the the Retd. General is now twistingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  facts to make it sound llike an aberration of Military tactics linked to the Defence Secretary when the obvious liabilities if any surely would rest on his own shoulders.