The arrest was right and legal
Dr. Stephen Long Los Angeles, California
About 20 protestors gathered in the sunshine in front of the
high-rise building housing the Sri Lankan Consulate in Mid-Wilshire Los
Angeles. They voiced their displeasure over the arrest and detention of
General Sarath Fonseka - who is in Sri Lanka, of course.
When I heard about the feeble, not-well-attended protest I wondered
why in the world those people were protesting his arrest in America - a
country where the General surely would be arrested should he show his
face here again. Among other things, suspected illicit arms trading by a
US Green Card holder is not generally tolerated in this country; and the
General most definitely would have been nabbed and detained at the
Airport.
Furthermore, here in the US he would not have been lodged in a
comfortable, Navy officers’, five-star apartment. He would have been
unceremoniously dumped in a cold, lonely jail cell without the good
food, service, and visits he gets from his good wife. You’ve all heard
the horror stories about over-crowded jails in America;
A group of Sri Lankans protesting in LA. Picture courtesy:
Colombopage |
the General would truly have been horrified had he been thrown in to
one.
Protests abroad
I couldn’t understand why they were protesting on Wilshire Boulevard
- rather than going back to Sri Lanka where the protest really belonged
- that is, if they felt so inclined and so in need of expressing their
outrage.
These sorts of protests on American soil only make Sri Lanka’s image
even worse than it already is in the eyes of the State Department, and
they provide even more fuel to LTTE-paid lobbyists and journalists like
Bruce Fein.
It is interesting to note that before the end of the war the Pro LTTE
Diaspora, some unscrupulous international NGOs, and certain meddling
“foreign powers” used their money to stage protests against the
Government.
When the war finally ended the various political parties of Sri Lanka
were mostly united in spirit, if not in ideology.
During the recent Presidential election the same pro- LTTE Diaspora,
the same NGOs, and the same foreign powers used their funds behind the
scene to promote protests by blind followers of the UNP and JVP, which
led the country to become polarized and divided.
The unwitting protesters - including the ones in LA yesterday - have
been used as pawns in a vicious conspiracy to create a breach in the
country, where before there was unity; and to cause divisiveness where
just a few months ago there was a shared energy directed towards a
bright future.
Also note that according to Mangala Samaraweera, both he and Ranil
Wickremesinghe, clandestinely visited the General while he was wearing
his uniform.
They had several top-secret meetings - even going so far as to change
vehicles en route to their rendezvous point to evade the CID.
The purpose of these meetings was to convince Fonseka to join their
efforts to unseat the President by serving as their common candidate.
This comes from a statement made by Samaraweera. I believe this is a
very good reason for Fonseka’s arrest.
Called to testify
Remember when the retired General was last in the US and he was
called to testify before the State Department about possible atrocities
committed during the end of the war? Remember that the General fled the
country before his scheduled appointment with his questioners?
We have recently learned that the JVP Secretary Tilvin Silva, was the
person Fonseka consulted before making his decision to leave the US on
that late night flight. This information comes directly from Silva, who
proudly announced it to the press.
If Fonseka was going to consult anyone, he should have sought the
advice of his superiors in the Government.
Perhaps the General’s most serious alleged offences against Sri Lanka
are the statements he made to the BBC and other international media, in
which he had the audacity to accuse his own military colleagues, albeit
by inference and innuendo, of war crimes during the end of the war. This
offence alone is a cause for arrest.
By the way, no need to mention that little matter of his son-in-law
selling illegal weapons on both sides of the frontline. This has been
covered ad nauseum elsewhere by this writer and others.
The General was an ignorant cat’s paw for a motley collaboration of
vengeful political enemies, and he was unknowingly way over his head -
thanks to his inflated ego.
Apparently the LA protesters didn’t realize - and neither did the US
State Department complainers and the congressional finger pointers -
that there are very strict laws in the US about military personnel who
are suspected of sedition and other such crimes committed while in
uniform.
If a General in the States ran for president, and it was learned that
during his service in the Armed Forces he might have divulged privileged
State security secrets, harboured nearly 500 Army deserters (armed with
illegal weapons, no less), and was suspected of trying to overthrow the
Government and assassinate the sitting President, he would have been
locked up for good - perhaps in Guantanamo Bay (they’d say it was for
his own protection, of course).
Zero tolerance
The US Government has zero tolerance for such offences - alleged or
at least until proven otherwise in Court. Think about it: the crimes the
General is accused of committing are serious.
The Government couldn’t possibly make their accusations without
solid, clear evidence gathered from good sources of intelligence.
President Rajapaksa is more than capable of defending himself at the
polling station - and just about everywhere else, for that matter.
Didn’t he prove he could stand up to just about anything during the
final days of Eelam War - including the arrogant, duplicitous so-called
“Western Powers” who exerted extreme pressure on him to capitulate to
their inappropriate demands? I was proud of him for defying the
neo-imperialists and their conniving NGOs.
I wonder if those protesters in LA and elsewhere realize that the Sri
Lankan President actually learned of Fonseka’s “questionable activities”
before the General retired, and that the Government exercised great
restraint by not jumping the gun and having him arrested as soon as they
found out.
When the General announced his candidacy, President Rajapaksa was
reticent about raising the issue - knowing perfectly well that such an
action would be construed by the public, the media, and the beloved
international community as trying to unfairly eliminate a valid
opponent.
The timing wasn’t right - particularly since plans for the announced
election were already at an advanced stage. The Government authorities
calmly waited until after the election to take legal action, which I
think was a wise decision.
Keep in mind that the President’s intelligence people had already
advised him what Fonseka was planning to do - way before he retired from
the military.
Sri Lanka has clear, concrete laws about all this. The Army Act,
Section 57(1) reads as follows: “Where a person subject to Military Law
commits any offence and thereafter ceases to be a person subject to
Military Law, he may be taken into and kept in Military Custody and be
tried and punished for that offence by a Court Martial.
Provided that he shall not be so tried after the lapse of six months,
from the date of the commission of such offence unless such offence is
the offence of mutiny, desertion or fraudulent enlistment.”
Keep in mind that when this law was written in 1949 it used the
British military system as its model.
In the UK when military law is interpreted, reasonable suspicion is
usually considered adequate grounds for arrest. And I believe that the
Government had quite a bit more than “reasonable suspicion” to back
their decision to arrest Fonseka.
Completely justified
There you have it. Fonseka’s arrest is not only totally legal, but
completely justified as well.
Soon the Government will record a Summary of Evidence, it will be
read to the General, and he will sign it.
Then the Summary will be recorded on a basic Charge Sheet, and the
defendant will be advised of his right to remain silent, and be allowed
to call witnesses on his own behalf.
He can also engage his own defence attorneys - something that might
not happen in a US Court Martial, though I admit I’m not completely
sure.
I feel confident that the Government is proceeding according to the
law of the land, and that the General is being treated in a humane and
compassionate - shall we say quite comfortable - manner. I’m sure we’re
all pleased he’s not receiving the inevitable harsh treatment he would
have gotten in the US for similar alleged offences.
Before any more protests, I think we should all wait and see the
evidence against the General when it comes out in Court.
Even though the General’s trial will not be open to the public, there
is no doubt in my mind that the whole story will eventually be revealed
- verbatim.
The Government, I’m sure, will be quite transparent about this case;
it is to its own advantage to do so. Meanwhile, as things are
progressing according to law, let’s not forget that Fonseka is still
innocent until he is proven guilty. He has his rights, and I’m sure the
Government is acting with all due respect.
Don’t forget that the General also has the right to go to the Supreme
Court and appeal the military Court’s decision, should the verdict not
go in his favour.
Finally, my advice to the protesters who were used as pawns in Los
Angeles: get real, grow up, and go home! Your protest is about a series
of tawdry, albeit serious, crimes on the other side of the world, and it
doesn’t belong on the streets of LA. I’m not saying that in America you
don’t have the right to protest about things that take place in foreign
lands.
It’s your American Constitutional right to protest against anything
you want. I am saying that when you do protest - find something to
protest against that’s really meaningful - like the shameful pillage of
Darfur - or the Southern Baptist missionaries who think they can walk
into Haiti and take home a souvenir child. Come to think of it, I might
just protest that one myself. |