US to quiz General Fonseka

[lkdood]

Blake cancels meeting; SL embassy offers legal team


Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka, now on a private visit to the United States, has been told to face a “voluntary meeting” with the Department of Homeland Security, prompting fears in Colombo that Washington is asserting its legal authority over the “war crimes” report released last week.

Reports reaching the highest levels of the Government say US Department of Homeland Security officials want to interview him on Wednesday (November 4) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gen. Fonseka, who is a US Green Card holder, has a residence in Oklahoma. His visit is in connection with renewing his Green Card which affords him residency in the US. This is a prelude to US citizenship.

He had already sought legal advice from Fred Fielding, a former White House Counsel to late Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and former President George W. Bush. His lawyer had advised that the CDS should face the meeting and answer all questions truthfully.

Thereafter, according to highly-placed Government sources in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador who learnt of the US move, mobilized lawyers from Patton Boggs, the law firm hired by the mission for lobbying and promotional work, to fly to Tulsa. Gen. Fonseka has agreed to drop lawyer Fielding from representing him and to retain the services of Patton Boggs.

It is not immediately clear whether Patton Boggs lawyers would advise Gen. Fonseka to claim diplomatic immunity and turn down the interview request or ask him to respond to questions from officials of the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, the involvement of the firm itself has become a knotty legal issue after it has been pointed out that it also represents the Government of Sri Lanka. Since Gen. Fonseka is a Green Card holder, and thus a prospective US citizen, there were concerns whether representation by Patton Boggs would also become another issue.

Sri Lankas Ambassador in the US, Jaliya Wickremasuriya has written to Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary in the State Department about this matter, seeking his assistance to resolve any issues involved. Heightening concerns is the possible US response if Gen. Fonseka claims diplomatic immunity and is refused. That is on the grounds that a prospective US citizen, a Green Card holder, is not covered by diplomatic immunity.

In such an event, questions are being raised whether the Department of Homeland Security would resort to Court action in the US to hold him for investigation for alleged human rights violations. Both US citizens and those aspiring to be citizens are governed by US laws and reported violations make them answerable to law enforcement agencies in that country.

The 68-page report from the US Department of State to the Congress on October 22 contains details of alleged “atrocities” by both the military and Tiger guerrillas during the final stages of the separatist war in May, this year. The report contains a reference to Gen. Fonseka.It says, “A media outlet reported on July 18 that at a celebrity event in Ambalangoda, Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka stated that the military had to overlook the traditional rules of war and even kill LTTE rebels who came to surrender carrying white flags during the war against the LTTE.”

General Fonseka and his wife Anoma left for US on October 23. Their visit was originally expected to be part official and part holiday. However, the official part of the visit which included an invitation to the US Pacific Command in Hawaii for farewell ceremonies to its commander Admiral Timothy J. Keating was later withdrawn.

This was in the light of the release of the State Department report to the Congress. US authorities said it would not be tenable for Gen. Fonseka to be officially hosted at any event in the light of the report.

Last Monday, Gen. Fonseka and his wife took part in religious ceremonies at the Washington Buddhist Viharaya. A meeting that day with Robert Blake did not materialize reportedly on the grounds that the Assistant Secretary was ill. Later, Gen. Fonseka and his entourage flew to Oklahoma.

sundaytimes

 

[lkdood]

General Fonseka asked to give evidence against Gota

http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267688

 

[lkdood]

monawa weida general ta in america ?

post your ideas

 

[prasadana2]

ane manda...

 

[lkdood]

Sri Lanka says its army chief faces questioning by the US government, over alleged war crimes committed during the war with the Tamil Tigers.

The Sri Lankan government has told the BBC that it objects to American plans to interview General Sarath Fonseka, who is currently on a visit to the US.

The American State Department published a recent report outlining allegations of human rights abuses during the war.

The UN has previously said an inquiry is needed to determine culpability.

General Fonseka is visiting his daughters in Oklahoma, and has been asked to present himself for an interview with the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, reports say.

A senior Sri Lankan government source told the BBC that the US department wants him to testify against Sri Lanka's powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

US officials have declined to confirm reports of the putative interview.

The US state department submitted its report to Congress in mid-October, outlining serious violations allegedly committed by Sri Lanka's army, as well as rebels of the Tamil Tigers.

At the time, Sri Lanka said it would appoint a high-ranking independent committee to probe US claims of human rights abuses during the final phase of its civil war.

The Sri Lankan military had blamed reports of civilian deaths on the Tigers - with UN estimates of up to 6,500 killed - saying they used people as human shields.

The Sri Lankan army was accused by many at the time of indiscriminate bombardment, and using heavy weaponry in areas where civilians were present.

BBC

 

[mldarshana]

ane manda sarath ....

 

[lkdood]

A senior Sri Lankan government source told the BBC that the US Department of Homeland Security wants to interview General Sarath Fonseka on the allegations this Wednesday, and wants him, specifically, to testify against Sri Lanka’s powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

BBC

 

[lkdood]

ane manda sarath ....

 

[G.D.1.nirmal]

Wat would really happen if General Sarath Fonseka speaked n provided evidence against Gotabhaya Rajapaksha in the following interviews??

 

[hasithw007]

ay ay ban moakkda seen eka. ketiyen kiyapanko

 

[lkdood]

Wat would really happen if General Sarath Fonseka speaked n provided evidence against Gotabhaya Rajapaksha in the following interviews??

deiyo thamai dan ne

general monawa kiyai da kiyala api dan ne naha ne

 

[lkdood]

ay ay ban moakkda seen eka. ketiyen kiyapanko

machan

balan na article eka

 

[emes]

American lath baila gahanawa. Un war crimes karala nedda?

 

[lkdood]

American lath baila gahanawa. Un war crimes karala nedda?

 

[lkdood]

Wimal Weerawansa predicts grave political situation

http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267967

 

[lkdood]

UNP: Conspiracy by the Govt

http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267968

 

[lkdood]

Sri Lanka protests at US plan to quiz military chief

Sri Lanka summoned the United States ambassador in Colombo on Monday to protest over US plans to quiz the island's military commander about alleged war crimes, a report said.

The privately-run Daily Mirror newspaper said the Sri Lankan government objected to General Sarath Fonseka, currently visiting Oklahoma, being interviewed over his conduct during the conflict against Tamil Tiger rebels.

"A senior government official told Daily Mirror that General Fonseka was on an official visit to the USA and carried a diplomatic passport. Therefore the US government has no right to quiz General Fonseka," the report said.

Sri Lanka's foreign ministry declined to comment on the report, while US embassy spokesman Jeff Anderson said his office "was looking into the matter."

Officials said Sri Lankan diplomats in the US were having high-level discussions to prevent Fonseka from being questioned on Wednesday.

Fonseka is a US Green Card holder and travelled to the US last week to visit his two daughters. He also addressed a group of Sri Lankans in Washington last week and took credit for leading the battle to crush the Tigers.

The US plan has "prompted fears in Colombo that Washington is asserting its legal authority over the 'war crimes' report" released last month, the paper said referring to a State Department dossier on alleged war crimes.

The report outlined excesses by security forces and Tiger rebels during the final stages of fighting earlier this year. The report, submitted to the US Congress, refers to Fonseka's having overstepped his brief.

The report covered the period from January -- when fighting intensified -- until the end of May, when Sri Lankan troops defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the end of a decades-old separatist conflict.

Sri Lanka last week announced it was appointing a panel to investigate the allegations after initially dismissing the report as "unsubstantiated."

AFP

 

[lkdood]

Sri Lanka protested Monday against plans by US officials to quiz its top military commander over alleged war crimes committed during the final months of the war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the US Department of Homeland Security had requested that General Sarath Fonseka, who is currently visiting his daughters in Oklahoma, make himself available for questioning on Wednesday.

"Our position is that the meeting should not take place," Bogollagama told reporters, adding that Fonseka was holding a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport and was representing the government on official work.

The minister said the US authorities were trying to force Fonseka to testify "as a possible source" against Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse over allegations of human rights violations.

The defence secretary, who hold US citizenship, is the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Earlier Monday, Bogollagama had summoned the US ambassador and lodged a formal protest.

Fonseka is a Green Card holder and travelled to the United States last week to visit his two daughters. He also addressed a group of Sri Lankans in Washington and took credit for leading the battle to crush the Tigers.

Bogollagama said Fonseka could not divulge sensitive information to third parties regarding his work with the Sri Lankan government.

The US plan to interview Fonseka followed the recent publication of a US State Department dossier outlining allegations of serious rights violations by both sides towards the end of Sri Lanka's decades-old conflict with Tamil Tiger separatists.
The report, submitted to the US Congress, refers to Fonseka having overstepped his brief.

The report covered the period from January -- when fighting intensified -- until the end of May, when Sri Lankan troops defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sri Lanka last week announced it was appointing a panel to investigate the allegations after initially dismissing the report as "unsubstantiated."

AFP

 

[lkdood]

Sri Lanka strongly protested US plans to question Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sarath Fonseka over alleged human rights violations in the
last phase of the civil war, saying he has no authority to share any information relating to national security with third parties.

The US Department of Homeland Security authorities have asked Fonseka, who is currently on a visit to the US, to make himself available for questioning in Oklahama, on Wednesday.

"Our position is that the meeting should not take place," he told reporters after Foreign Office summoned US Ambassador Patricia Butenis to lodge protest over the move and was told that the US should "forthwith desist from any endeavor to interview General Fonseka."

"Whatever information General Fonseka may have acquired in the exercise of his official duties is privileged by nature. Therefore, it cannot legally be shared with third parties without the prior approval and consent of the Sri Lanka authorities," Bogollagama said.

Foneska, who was the Army Chief during the last phase of the war, had travelled to the US on a diplomatic passport for pre-arranged appointments, he said.

He said Fonseka, a US green card holder, has been asked to testify before US authorities whose objective is to to use him "as a source against human rights violations by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa)."

timesofindia

 

[lkdood]

Sri Lanka said on Monday it had demanded Washington drop an attempt to question its top military official over possible human rights violations in the last phase of the country's 25-year civil war.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said he had been told General Sarath Fonseka, the chief of Defense Staff, had been asked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to attend an interview aimed at gathering information against Sri Lanka's defense secretary.

Fonseka, who led the army to victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, is visiting the United States where his daughters attend university.
The foreign minister said an attorney at the Department of Homeland Security told Fonseka the aim of the interview was to pull together information against Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and a naturalized U.S. citizen.

The department's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division would normally have authority only to probe a matter related to Fonseka's prospective U.S. citizenship as a green card holder and not any possible human rights violations.
Bogollagama said Fonseka, army chief at the time of the final offensive against the Tigers, had received a letter followed by a phone call to attend an interview on Wednesday. Fonseka is now in Oklahoma.

"The Department of Homeland Security should forthwith desist from any endeavor to interview General Fonseka," Bogollagama told reporters, adding he had called in the U.S. ambassador to Colombo, Patricia Butenis, to give her that message.

"Whatever information General Fonseka may have acquired in the exercise of his official duties is privileged by nature. Therefore, it cannot legally be shared with third parties without the prior approval and consent of the Sri Lanka authorities."

Asked for details of the interview request and the reasons behind it, Jeff Anderson, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Colombo, said: "We are looking into it."

Sri Lanka faces heavy Western pressure over its human rights record.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on October 22 suggested an external inquiry in Sri Lanka similar to Gaza on war crimes, while the European Union is considering whether to withdraw a trade concession that helps Sri Lanka's top export, garments.

Sri Lanka said last week that it would appoint a panel to probe a report by the U.S. State Department detailing possible atrocities by both warring parties in the final battle of the 25-year war.

The government defeated the Tamil Tigers in May in a bitter final phase led by Fonseka with both Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa giving all the necessary support.

Fonseka's name has now surfaced as a potential presidential contender to President Rajapaksa, speculation opposition parties have been happy to fan against the incumbent's enormous post-war popularity.

But the government has said there was no rift between Fonseka and Rajapaksa, who promoted the army commander to the Chief of Defense Staff in July, which many analysts saw as neutralizing the wide powers Fonseka had in wartime.

reuters