COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Military Chief Lashes Out at Govt, Sri Lanka’s outgoing military chief accused the government of sidelining him on suspicion he was plotting a coup after leading the army to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels, according to his resignation letter obtained on Friday by The Associated Press.

Sarath Fonseka’s forces swept through the jungles of northern Sri Lanka and ended the quarter-century civil war in May.

He announced on Thursday he would retire at the end of this month amid speculation he plans to run against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in upcoming elections.

Government spokesman Anusha Palpita said Friday, however, that Fonseka had been “granted permission to retire with immediate effect’’ by Rajapaksa.

Fonseka, 59, declined to discuss his future plans when he met reporters Thursday.

In his resignation letter to Rajapaksa, Fonseka complained that he was forced out as army commander just two weeks after the war ended and was appointed head of all military forces, essentially an administrative post.

He said a rumor was spread among top government officials accusing him of planning a coup, and that the president’s refusal to let him stay on as army chief showed “a strong mistrust in me, which is most depressing after all (that) was performed to achieve war victory.’’

The government was so suspicious that a coup was to be launched Oct 15 that it alerted neighboring India, “unnecessarily placing the Indian troops on high alert,’’ he said. “This action did tarnish the image and reputation’’ of the army, he said.

Government minister Mahinda Samarasing he said Friday that Rajapaksa would issue a detailed reply to the accusations soon.

Fonseka and Rajapaksa, who are both from the Sinhalese majority, became national heroes after the defeat of the minority Tamilrebels. Rajapaksa hoped to capitalize on his popularity by calling early elections next year.

Opposition parties formed a coalition earlier this month to challenge Rajapaksa in the polls, with media reports saying they planned to run Fonseka as their presidential candidate.

In his resignation, Fonseka appeared to be laying the groundwork for a campaign, accusing Rajapaksa’s government of failing to “win the peace in spite of the fact that the army under my leadership won the war.’’ “There is no clear policy to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people, which will surely ruin the victory … paving the way for yet another uprising in the future,’’ he said.

Despite the war’s end, peace dividends were yet to materialise and economic hardships faced by Sri Lankans have worsened, he said. Last week, Fonseka, a US green card holder, left the United States before he was to be questioned by US officials over alleged human rights abuses by his forces during the war, the government said.

A US State Department report said military attacks on civilians and hospitals during the fighting could amount to war crimes.

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Sri Lankan Military Chief Lashes Out at Govt was first posted on November 14, 2009 at 4:16 pm.

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