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Fonseka’s trial and fate

With his disgrace, Fonseka might be a condemned personality in the rank and file of the country’s armed services, yet he is likely to find a new face and identity as and when he decides to tell his side of the story. But the fact that his case has been heard in the absence of the defence team, and that too during the court vacation raises questions of impropriety and fair play. The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa would have done well to ensure a normal civil trial to his former military commander, taking into account the irresistible fact that Fonseka had acquired a political image of his own, as he contested elections against him, and has a silent support to boast.

The love-hate relationship in which General Fonseka and President Rajapaksa had been in for quite some time is no secret affair. What turned out to be a bone of contention between the two, however, is yet to be known. But it is extraordinary to note that the two men who surprisingly and successfully nailed down the festering Tamil insurgency have fallen out so badly. If conspiracy theories are lent an ear and the charge sheet against Fonseka in the Supreme Court is any criterion, he is accused of plotting a coup at the zenith of his pride and power. But again it astonishes that after quelling the 25 years old Tamil Tigers-led civil war, the general chose the ballot route, and that too after shedding his uniform is unprecedented. As an acknowledgment of his services, the government had duly promoted him as the chief of the defence staff, yet he chose to resign in pursuit of finding a political career. This is why the general and his supporters argue that the charges are politically motivated. The presidential duel between them in January this year perhaps cast the die, as Rajapaksa perhaps reached the conclusion that it would be too toiling to have a victorious general in the wings as political opponent.

Sri Lanka is passing through a critical moment of history. Three decades of civil war and chaos had badly rented its social fabric, and this was the time when the political dispensation should have tirelessly opted for national 
reconciliation and nation building. The trial and error episode is unfortunately uncalled for. Reintegrating the Tamil and Sinhalese communities should take precedence over politics 
of exigency. Penalising a retired general and a political opponent will neither help the government nor address the pressing requirements of state and security. Rajapaksa’s administration’s efforts to rehabilitate the millions of displaced refugees and 
broker a new social contract is highly appreciated. This is why Fonseka’s trial and his fate should not be seen mired in controversy, as it would inflame tendencies of unrest and reactionary politics. Fonseka, for many, is a prisoner of conscience and it would be politically correct to treat him with justice and magnanimity.