Sri Lanka opposition to strike after leader held

(AP) — Sri Lanka's opposition called Tuesday for countrywide protests after its defeated presidential candidate was arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government while serving as army commander.

The threat follows Monday's dramatic arrest of former army chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the opposition's leading figure, who last year led government troops in their crushing defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels. Some analysts said the arrest, which comes ahead of parliamentary elections, appears to have been aimed at preventing Fonseka from participating as planned.

Fonseka's wife Anoma Fonseka said the former army chief has been cut off from family and friends and is being held at a secret location, though the government denied that.

The government has accused Fonseka of trying to topple the government and kill the president. Fonseka has denied this charges.

After announcing Monday that Fonseka would face a court martial on sedition charges, the government heaped more accusations on him. A statement Tuesday said the former army chief's reported call for anyone who committed war crimes during the conflict to be prosecuted showed he was "hell-bent on betraying the gallant armed forces of Sri Lanka."

More than 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the fighting that crushed the rebels last spring. Human rights groups have accused the military, which was led by Fonseka at the time, of shelling hospitals and heavily populated civilian areas during the fighting, and the rebels of holding the local population as human shields.

One-time allies, Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa were both considered heroes by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority for crushing the Tigers. However, their relationship deteriorated after hostilities ended.

Fonseka left the army and led the opposition's attempts to unseat the president in an election last month. Rajapaksa won the election by 17 percentage points, according to official results.

Karu Jayasuriya, an opposition lawmaker, said since the end of the election, the government has arrested and harassed political opponents.

"It seems the government is preparing for the next parliamentary election," he said at a gathering of opposition leaders, where they also announced a countrywide protest, starting Wednesday.

Fonseka's wife, Anoma, told reporters Tuesday that she has not been allowed to meet her husband or told where he is being held.

"He was dragged like an animal," Anoma said. "Is this what he gets for ending a 30-year war?"

"He never wanted to topple the government, while he was in uniform. While he wore the uniform, he never talked about politics," she said.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Prasad Samarasinghe denied that Fonseka is cut off from family or friends.

"Family members are allowed to see him, and he has been allowed to obtain legal advice also," he said, adding that the former commander is not even in a cell.

The arrest comes ahead of the country's general election, which Fonseka planned to contest. Rajapaksa's government wants to secure a two-third majority in the country's parliament, giving them the absolute majority and entrenching their grip on power.

Fonseka's arrest leaves a mix of opposition parties — from ultranationalist Sinhalese Marxists to former Tamil separatists — in a difficult spot. The vote was be called by April.

Since the Jan. 26 election, Fonseka has complained that the government was attempting to arrest him on trumped up charges. Even as returns came in, troops surrounded the hotel where he was staying, in a massive show of force. Last week, security forces raided his office and arrested at least 15 of his staff. A number of serving military officers, which the government said were considered to be a threat to national security, have been fired.

The opposition has rejected the results of the presidential election, accusing the government of stealing more than 1 million of Fonseka's votes during the tallying process, and said it will challenge them in court.

It has also accused the government of a campaign of threats, intimidation and illegal imprisonment of its supporters and activists.

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Associated Press reporter Fisnik Abrashi contributed to this report.