![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/sarath-fonseka-colombo-telegraph2.jpg\" "\\"Sarath")
<\/a>Fonseka - war crime accountability from himself to Gotabhaya<\/p><\/div>\n
A leaked US diplomatic cable details the situation just after Sarth Fonseka\u2019s final visit to US as the Chief of Defence Staff.\u00a0The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from WikiLeaks database. The cable written on 6th<\/sup>November 2009 and classified as \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d by the Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler.<\/p>\n The US Ambassador wrote \u201cAt the same time, the Rajapkasas would like to see Fonseka eliminated as a political competitor \u2013 but not through arrest and conviction abroad, where he presumably would quickly turn state\u2019s evidence on potential war crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNews of CHOD General Sarath Fonseka\u2019s visit to the US and subsequent interaction with DHS dominated the local headlines in Colombo during the week of November 1. Many news outlets and political actors strongly criticized the US for apparent attempt to question Fonseka and possibly use his testimony against the Rajapaksa brothers in an investigation of possible war crimes committed at the end of the war\u201d the ambassador wrote.<\/p>\n According to the leaked cable the Ambassador met the Secretary of Defense\u00a0Gorabhaya Rajapaksa on November 3 and discussed the matter with him and Gotabhaya said to her the story would be used by the JVP against the president. In a meeting with Ambassador, current Sri Lankan Army commander Jagath Jayasuriya said he had no current plans to visit US.<\/p>\n \u201cThe general could have quietly gone to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interview then discretely reported the event to his political superiors upon his return. Instead, presumably he or someone close to him decided to leak the story to SL press, emphasizing the USG desire to question \u00a0about Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Fonseka may have been aiming to shift blame for war crime accountability from himself to Gotabhaya while appearing to be the dutiful soldier reporting to his commander. At the same time, the Rajapkasas would like to see Fonseka eliminated as a political competitor \u2013 but not through arrest and conviction abroad, where he presumably would quickly turn state\u2019s evidence on potential war crimes. Thus, they wanted him back in Sri Lanka as quickly as possible. Whatever their deeper meaning, this week\u2019s events will further the view among many here that there is at least a desire by some in US Government to remove the Rajapaksa from power.\u201d the US ambassador Butenis further wrote.<\/p>\n Read the below cable for further details;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,31,57,1,26,27],"tags":[1139,1161,1220,1134,1174,1185,1206,1257,1298,1263,6983],"class_list":["post-1036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-politics","category-judiciary","category-law-and-order","category-news","category-war-crimes","category-wikileaks","tag-democracy","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-gotabhaya-rajapaksa","tag-human-rights","tag-jvp","tag-patricia-a-butenis","tag-presidential-election-2010","tag-sarath-fonseka-in-wikileaks","tag-sri-lankans-in-wikileaks","tag-us-embassy-cables-on-sri-lanka","tag-war-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nVZCZCXRO2653\r\nOO RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR\r\nDE RUEHLM #1018\/01 3101226\r\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\r\nO 061226Z NOV 09 ZDK\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0736\r\nINFO RUCNMEM\/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 2022\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 9058\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 7296\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 5205\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 3451\r\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 5157\r\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0030\r\nRUEHSM\/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0692\r\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 4268\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9621\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 6915\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0004\r\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 3815\r\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\r\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\r\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEKJCS\/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY\r\nC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001018\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INSB\r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 10\/21\/2019\r\nTAGS: PGOV<\/a> PREL<\/a> PREF<\/a> PHUM<\/a> PTER<\/a> EAID<\/a> MOPS<\/a> CE<\/a>\r\nSUBJECT: FONSEKA'S U.S. VISIT AND RECALL MAKE WAVES IN SRI\r\nLANKA\r\n\r\nREF: COLOMBO 1006\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001018 001.4 OF 002\r\n\r\nClassified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION VALERIE C. FOWLER. REASONS: 1.4\r\n (B, D)\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1. (C) News of CHOD General Sarath Fonseka's visit to the\r\nU.S. and subsequent interaction with DHS dominated the local\r\nheadlines in Colombo during the week of November 1. Many\r\nnews outlets and political actors strongly criticized the\r\nU.S. for this apparent attempt to question Fonseka and\r\npossibly use his testimony against the Rajapaksa brothers in\r\nan investigation of possible war crimes committed at the end\r\nof the war. The JVP was much more vocal in its support of\r\nFonseka himself, which likely indicated their continued\r\ndesire to enlist him as their presidential candidate in\r\nopposition to President Rajapaksa. They attempted to give\r\nthe appearance of being in direct contact with Fonseka\r\nthroughout this time, being the first to announce publicly\r\nthat he was in fact on a plane and returning to Sri Lanka.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2. (C) The official government response included a strong\r\nstatement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see reftel).\r\nOn November 3, Ambassador also met with Defense Secretary\r\nGotabhaya Rajapaksa, relaying the same information to him\r\nregarding Fonseka and his scheduled DHS interview as she had\r\ngiven earlier to the Foreign Minister. The Defense Secretary\r\nresponded that this story would be used by the JVP against\r\nthe president. Upon Fonseka's arrival back in Sri Lanka in\r\nthe early morning of November 5, the entire airport was\r\nreportedly placed in lockdown while he was flown by\r\nhelicopter from the airport to his official residence,\r\nostensibly for his protection.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>3. (C) Various media reports and political commentators\r\nremarked that the U.S. would now be virtually off-limits to\r\nthe Rajapaksas and to Fonseka, since they would not want to\r\nrun the risk of interrogation or arrest on war crimes\r\ncharges. The National Freedom Front claimed that Defense\r\nSecretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had been questioned for at\r\nleast one hour by DHS officials upon entry into the U.S.\r\nduring his visit in late September. Many of these\r\ncommentators speculated that Fonseka and the Rajapaksas were\r\nlikely planning to retire at least partially in the U.S., and\r\nthis was now out of the question. In a meeting with\r\nAmbassador, current Sri Lankan Army commander Jagath\r\nJayasuriya said he had no current plans to travel to the U.S.\r\n The JVP questioned Foreign Minister Bogollagama on the issue\r\nduring a parliamentary session, and the FM claimed that the\r\ngovernment had the matter completely in hand.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>4. (C) The furor surrounding this news story was only\r\namplified by unceasing recent speculation about whether\r\nFonseka might run for president in possible upcoming\r\nelections. The JVP's public statements were likely meant for\r\nFonseka as much as for the public, as they attempt to win him\r\nover as their candidate. In a continuation of their early\r\nelection campaign rhetoric, they challenged Gotabhaya and\r\nBasil Rajapaksa to give up U.S. citizenship to affirm Sri\r\nLankan strength and sovereignty.\r\n\r\nCOMMENT\r\n-------\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) The Fonseka affair was a complicated, convoluted game\r\nwithin a game that both Fonseka and the Rajapaksas were\r\ntrying to play to their own advantage. The general could\r\nhave quietly gone to the DHS interview then discretely\r\nreported the event to his political superiors upon his\r\nreturn. Instead, presumably he or someone close to him\r\ndecided to leak the story to the SL press, emphasizing the\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001018 002.2 OF 002\r\n\r\nUSG desire to question him about Defense Secretary Gotabhaya\r\nRajapaksa. Fonseka may have been aiming to shift blame for\r\nwar crimes accountability from himself to Gotabhaya while\r\nappearing to be the dutiful soldier reporting to his\r\ncommander. At the same time, the Rajapaksas would like to\r\nsee Fonseka eliminated as a political competitor -- but not\r\nthrough arrest and conviction abroad, where he presumably\r\nwould quickly turn state's evidence on potential war crimes.\r\nThus, they wanted him back in Sri Lanka as quickly as\r\npossible. Whatever their deeper meaning, this week's events\r\nwill further the view among many here that there is at least\r\na desire by some in the U.S. Government to remove the\r\nRajapaksas from power.\r\n\r\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"