Sri Lankan Police Raid Defeated Candidate Office

COLOMBO: Police raided the office of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka and arrested 15 of his workers Friday, his lawyer said, after he disputed this week’s election result and the government alleged he was planning a coup.

The government has also claimed that Fonseka, a former army chief and the opposition’s main candidate in the vote, was planning to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Police commandos raided Fonseka’s office in the capital Colombo, saying they were looking for army deserters, said Mano Ganeshan, an opposition lawmaker.

A government spokesman confirmed the report, but did not give details.

A press photographer saw members of the police Special Task Force deployed near the office.

Fonseka was at his house elsewhere in Colombo at the time of the raid, Ganeshan said.

Fifteen ex-military personnel who worked at the office were detained, said Shiral Laktilaka, Fonseka’s lawyer.

Fonseka led the government’s military offensive that defeated the Tamil Tigers in May, ending a 25-year separatist rebellion, but then resigned as army chief and joined the political opposition.

He was beaten in Tuesday’s bitterly contested presidential poll by Rajapaksa, but has disputed the official result and plans to challenge it in court. On Thursday, he alleged the government stole more than 1 million of his votes during the tallying process.

The government has denied Fonseka’s allegation, and in turn accused him of wanting to organize a coup and of being involved in an alleged attempt on Rajapaksa’s life.

Following his defeat in the presidential poll, Fonseka said the government arrested some of his associates and removed his 80-strong state-provided security force, a move he says has put his life in danger.

He also said authorities put his name on the list of people who cannot leave the country, a charge denied by the government.

Separately, detectives questioned an editor of a pro-opposition newspaper, said opposition lawmaker Vijitha Herath.

Chandana Sirimalwatte of the Lanka newspaper was asked to report to the Criminal Investigations Department on Friday, Herath said, adding that officials were preparing to obtain an order from the government that can allow for a 90-day detention under the country’s wartime emergency laws.

Herath said he does not know why the editor was summoned for questioning. However, the newspaper backed Fonseka in the election and has in the past reported alleged government corruption.