COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan government supporters hurled stones at thousands of opposition activists and police fired tear gas and water cannon as a mass protest over the arrest of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka sparked unrest.
The clash was the first salvo in what promises to be a bruising pre-election period leading up to a parliamentary poll on April 8. It follows an acrimonious presidential election, in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently secured a landslide victory over former army chief Fonseka.
Clashes began outside the country’s Supreme Court, where opposition supporters gathered to protest the arrest of Fonseka, who was taken into custody by military police Monday on sedition charges.
Fonseka’s lawyer, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, said today an appeal was filed with the country’s Supreme Court for the former army chief’s release, saying his fundamental rights were violated.
Rajapakshe said the detention was illegal and Fonseka had not been formally charged. He is being held at a Navy base in the capital Colombo where a dozen military personnel guard him around the clock.
The opposition describes the detention as an attempt to harass it ahead of the April parliamentary elections and as revenge against the former military leader who was instrumental in the annihilation of the Tamil Tiger rebels last year.
Government supporters — who decided to hold a counter rally at the Supreme Court — threw rocks and chased away opposition demonstrators.
“We were walking peacefully when we were attacked by government goons,” said Marina Abdeen, an opposition supporter.
Police were deployed in the area but did not intervene until opposition members started fighting back. They then shot tear gas at them.
An Associated Press photographer said some opposition members had bloody head wounds. A hospital official, Pushpa Soyza, said three civilians and two policemen were treated for minor injuries.
Thousands of opposition supporters demanded Fonseka’s release while burning life-sized posters of Rajapaksa. They also smashed coconuts, a local tradition based on a belief it could bring divine intervention to their cause.
“Just a few months back, Fonseka was a war hero and now the government is branding him as a traitor,” said Rathnapala de Silva, a 70-year-old opposition supporter. “This is only because he contested against Rajapaksa. We will continue our struggle until he is released.”
One-time allies, Fonseka and Rajapaksa were both considered heroes by Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority for crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were fighting for a homeland for minority Tamils. However, their relationship deteriorated after the war ended in May.
Opposition members said Tuesday they would launch a series of countrywide protests following Fonseka’s detention.
The arrest of the former army chief will likely serve as a warning to others who might seek to challenge the ruling party’s grip on power. Already, media rights groups rank Sri Lanka among the most dangerous places in the world for dissenting journalists.
Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition is hoping to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament, giving it virtually unfettered control of this island nation, off the southern tip of India.
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