Re-elected Sri Lanka leader pledges reconciliation

(AP) — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged Thursday to seek reconciliation with minority Tamils after his sweeping re-election, but did not indicate how he plans to deal with their demands for greater rights.

Critics said the balloting showed the country's ethnic divisions that fueled decades of war were again near a breaking point, with many minorities apparently voting for the opposition or staying away from the polls.

Rajapaksa won a second term in office Tuesday, defeating his former army chief by 17 percentage points in the first presidential election since his government defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels and brought an end to decades of war.

The opposition candidate, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, cried foul. He said the government had manipulated the results and said he will challenge the results in court.

The United States congratulated Rajapaksa on his victory. A U.S. Embassy statement also urged authorities to ensure the safety of all candidates and campaign workers.

Fonseka said authorities were harassing members of his political team and arrested some of his associates. About half a dozen soldiers wearing black masks were deployed at an intersection leading to Fonseka's house Thursday.

Rajapaksa said his sweeping victory at the polls shows the people backed the methods his government used to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels and end the war.

"There were many, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, who criticized President Rajapaksa's policies to bring an end to violence and terrorism that threatened our own people, as well as our region," the statement from his office said. "The overwhelming mandate given to President Rajapaksa in this election has given the answer to these critics."

Human rights groups and some Western governments have alleged that Sri Lankan troops and the rebels committed war crimes during the last stage of the war, which ended last May. The U.N. says more than 7,000 civilians were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced last year alone.

Rajapaksa will lead a country mired in economic difficulties and split along ethnic lines, and faces serious allegations of human rights violations against minorities and government critics.

He said he recognizes the hardships of those afflicted by the war in the north and east, but fell short of making any concessions to demands by the Tamil minority for self-rule and greater rights in those areas.

"The people in Sri Lanka have voted for an end to division, an end to terrorism, and for a new beginning of peace and prosperity," a statement from his office said. "President Rajapaksa intends to ensure that we build on the peace already achieved and move toward a full reconciliation program."

Newspapers urged Rajapaksa on Thursday to use his second term and wide election margin to forge reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese and Tamils, who have suffered disproportionately during the decades of war. Tens of thousands are still living in refugee camps.

The independent Daily Mirror newspaper said the election results showed that polarization between the ethnic communities has sharpened.

"The politics in Sri Lanka has pushed the nation into such a precarious edge that a party leader can no longer win the support of both the Sinhalese and Tamil-Muslim combine alike," it said in an editorial.

It said Rajapaksa's overwhelming victory gave him a chance to find a solution.

"It is only Mahinda Rajapaksa who has now emerged the undisputed leader among the Sinhalese who can put an end to this vicious cycle of communal politics," the editorial said.

Opposition parties, meanwhile, said they will challenge Rajapaksa's victory in court.

Fonseka has accused Rajapaksa of using the state media to attack him, misappropriating public funds for his campaign and preventing displaced Tamils from voting.

The opposition leader was back at his home Thursday after a daylong confinement at a Colombo hotel surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.

Fonseka said authorities have put his name on a blacklist with the aim of preventing him from leaving the country. Information Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena denied the allegation.

Mangala Samaraweera, a spokesman for Fonseka, said the government's decision to strip the former army chief of his security detail — assigned to him after he resigned from the army — puts his life "in grave danger."

"He will have enemies for the rest of his life," Samaraweera said. Not having the guards means that Fonseka cannot move freely and is "under indirect house arrest," Samaraweera said.

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Associated Press reporters Fisnik Abrashi and Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.