From Hero to villain: The rise and fall of general fonseka
One of the first appointments made by Mahinda Rajapaksa soon after winning the presidential election in 2005 was that of Defence Secretary. His younger brother Gotabaya, an American citizen who had taken leave from his job to help in his brothers’ election campaign, was asked to take over the Defence Ministry immediately.
Gotabaya started by removing highly respected Army Commander Lieutenant General Shantha Kottegoda. General Kottegoda, an officer and a gentleman was sent off as the Ambassador to Brazil and Major General Sarath Fonseka was appointed as Army Commander. General Fonseka was just three weeks away from retirement.
That fateful decision by Gotabaya was to have dramatic consequences for Sri Lanka. The military capabilities of General Fonseka were never in doubt. He was highly respected and liked by the rank and file. Wherever he was in command, he took care of the soldiers but it is among the officer corps that he was unpopular. He was highly respected by his peers and seniors as an officer with ability but never as a gentleman.
From the early days of his career he faced many inquiries into indiscipline, especially pertaining to his behaviour with women. His biggest weakness was his inability to forget or forgive those he perceived to have crossed him. In fact his reputation for taking revenge from anyone who crossed him was legendary. Despite his abilities he was never earmarked as a possible army commander. Politicians feared him because he was known to be extremely ambitious and a difficult man to control.
As Commander of the Army, all of these qualities of General Fonseka came to the forefront. He transformed the army by introducing new training methods and bringing in younger, battle-hardened officers to lead the brigades and the battalions. Ground commanders were given specific targets to achieve within a specific period of time. A hard task master, his motto was “deliver or depart”. Even in the midst of a battle, senior ground commanders were removed overnight when they failed to deliver. Highly respected military analysts, both local and foreign, failed to understand his tactics and strategy and till very late in to the war were skeptical that the LTTE could be militarily defeated. The LTTE made no such mistake. The failed assassination attempts on General Fonseka and the Defence Secretary early in the war were a clear indication that the LTTE had identified the threat posed by them. If any one of the assassination attempts succeeded, it may have delivered a crippling blow to the war effort.
Even in the midst of a do-or-die battle Fonseka could not curtail his major weaknesses. Capable officers with proven track records were sidelined because they at some point in his long military career had crossed him.
Some senior officers whose careers were destroyed by Fonseka up to date do not know what they had done to anger him. His inability to face criticism led to many journalists being brutally assaulted and allegedly at least one of them, the Editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge being killed. The government was well aware of all this but remained silent. It was, to say the least, ‘inconvenient’ for the government to take their Army Commander to task. After all he was not doing anything that others in the government were not.
Despite claims to the contrary in recent months by the President and Gotabaya, there is very little doubt that General Sarath Fonseka played a key role in ending the war. If General Fonseka had retired gracefully as Chief of Defence Staff he would have become a major historical figure of modern Sri Lanka and seen as a real hero by generations to come.
Most people would have been satisfied with such a rare achievement. But the ever ambitious General Fonseka, now with a huge ego to add to it, could not contain himself. The man who so brilliantly led the war, badly misread public opinion and more importantly the ability of a government to destroy the credibility of an opponent who themselves once called the “best army commander in the world”.
What is amazing is that fully knowing the skeletons in his cupboard, Fonseka thought he could protect his ‘War Hero” image and be a credible presidential candidate for “change”. It is equally puzzling as to what made Fonseka calculate that he would defeat a sitting president at the height of his popularity with the backing of a motley bunch of discredited politicians. Also unimaginable was that Fonseka thought the government would not bare the skeletons in public view.
During the war, Fonseka repeatedly announced how he had brought to an end corruption in the army and most people believed that. Therefore his campaign rhetoric that he would end corruption in the country was believed by many despite being backed by a group of politicians and an ex chief justice who were perceived corrupt in differing ways when they were in power.
The current allegations of massive corruption with the help of his son-in-law, whether proved in court or not has destroyed his reputation to such an extent that he can never again be the crusader against corruption — the image he projected in the presidential campaign.
It is obvious that his popularity has hit rock bottom. Even if he wins a seat in parliament he will be seen as just another unsavory politician, and god forbid, we have a surfeit of them, already.
Sitting in his “semi luxury” prison at Navy Headquarters, Fonseka has ample time on his hands to ponder how and why the war hero of a few months ago is now facing the real possibility of a long jail term (if not many jail terms).
Fonseka’s rise and fall from hero to villain reflects a lot about our society. Our heroes do not know when to quit gracefully and we as a people are left desperately looking for a credible, committed leader who at the minimum can keep his hands off the till. What this whole episode has made clear is that we are destined to be governed by a bunch of thieves for some time to come.
No one denies the fact that he was a great Army General but it was a good lesson for him trying to be greedy and trying to go his own ways putting the country at stake which led to his down fall.Now he should face the punishment accordingly and being in Army making money through the other means it self is a criminal offence
The worst part Sf did not read was that he he was advised by a group of politicians who were utter failures of their career which is politics.If I were to to do that I would have searched for the best advise from the successors in Politics like MR .Had SF had approached Gota and MR and told his side of honest story. they would have listened to him and given due respect.in fact MR offered him right path he did not accept it.So he should accept the fact that his destiny was crafted by him only not some one else.Why did he listen to failures like Mangala and Ranil.Now do not blame others.
The fault lies with us, the voters, who cannot tell the difference between the lies uttered by dishonest wannabe politicians and the TRUTH from whichever side it comes.
Let us cast our votes to the honest politicians from whichever party they come, and let a Government that is in the best interest of Sri Lanka be formed.
Sunday leader, where are you going now?, you are also a major contributor of this game. Thank you for publishing this as you new everything from the beginning, but what about the poor voters who misguided by your open support to SF in the presidential election?
Very good on him.Too much Ego…
“It is equally puzzling as to what made Fonseka calculate that he would defeat a sitting president at the height of his popularity with the backing of a motley bunch of discredited politicians. ”
Whats is even more puzzling is that most of the Colombo’s educated elite and newspapers such as Sunday Leader (who’s editor was allegedly killed for criticizing this man) in spite of his unacceptable record as explained in this article, blindly baked this person during the Presidential Election.
Desperation! clutching at straws to save the country from the present set of villains.
It appears that SF committed the most unforgivable crime “Getting Caught”
now that the desperate attemt to save the country from the prent set of villains failed, we are doomed?????? now I am puzzled
Best is to lock him up till his “Ego” gas flushes out of his backside.
Dhananjaya, you have summarized this whole episode so well ! Need we say more? The Sunday Leader is seen to be taking a step back and propping up the corrupt GOSL in someway these days ? No one can blame these once brave journalists as they have their own lives and that of their families to safe-guard against a murderous bunch of lunatics at the top.
SF was known for what he was but what about Karuna and Pillayan who are Ministers today after killing our innocent civilians and those 600 policemen who surrendered ? No international cry or inquiry on that either and neither are we pushing for it ! Shame, Shame all around.
Rise and Fall of President is very closer
keep deaming
true
Well Idi Amin thought the same, Hitler thought the same, Marcos thought the same, that dude in Central African Republic thought the same.. And we all know what happened to them. ha ha ha….
may be in 7 years. but can’t guarantee :-P
To Nikama
Please stop day dreaming.
not only nuttttttts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!but boltd too nikamo.
what abt the rise & fall of sunday leader with SF???
What about ever falling Ranil!
It is interesting to read all the armchair experts and cowards who pass judgment on a genuine WAR HERO !
A man, who as part of a TEAM, contributed to the eradication of terrorism in Our Beloved Sri Lanka. A man who bears shrapnel marks on his body, as testimony to his COURAGE !!! A fact, many of the’ heroes’ now passing vindictive comment fail to acknowledge: And, who would still be hiding under their bed’s waiting for the next LTTE bomb to explode, if not for this MAN..
GENERAL FONSEKA is clearly a political neophyte and a vacuous mind – in matters ‘political.’ However, he is a man who has rendered yeoman service to the Nation, and earnt the respect to which he is entitled.
To my knowledge, he has not been convicted of any crimes; but to which armchair experts have already pronounced his guilt.
This is not a reflection of the GENERAL. It is a sad reflection of the character (lack of) of spineless ; sycophantic; xenophobic ; gutter-crawlers ; that infest this beautiful land.
Add my name to your list as well. Fonseka should have done his job and retired peacefully. Greed is the demise of every mortal. Fonseka is a prime example of this. This should also go as a warning for other greedy power brokers.
James,
Talking abt greediness, what abt the King & His family ? never in our history we had such a power hungry & dumb family.
Mahinda cohorts (like the one Asoka P below) love to talk abt others greediness, but shamefully ignorant abt the greediness of the King. The greediness of Mahinda is such that He had allocated him self 2.3 billion rupees from the Vote-Of-Account ! Much more than he allocated for whole Education Ministry !
King knows Politics is the only way His son can achieve both money & greatness no matter how dumb he is. So for the first time in our modern political history a Father is promoting a 23 year old kid to the heir to throne !
So when dumb voters like Asoka P votes in the Next election, they will be (probaly) voting to make Raja & dumb kids & his dumb siblings & his dumb cohorts MORE RICHER !
ayesh, have look in the mirror you’ll know what dumb is!
I look at the mirror and mirror pointed you ! And in you I saw the real dumb !
But dont worry, even mirror know Rajas family is dumber than you. ha ha ha……
Well said NAK ,You have sence of humour!TC
Fonseka wanted to be accepted by the west as a hero and not persecuted as a war criminal.
Some mastermind in the west (may be in the US State department) sensed his fear. They frightened him first with war crimes talk. Then, they must have told him to go and become the leader in Sri Lanka by hook or crook and kick the Chinese out and also the Rajapaksa(s).
So, we had Fonseka the ‘political neophyte and vacuous mind’; someone totally disloyal to almost every one except to himself.
The ‘village godayas’ have a principled stand on at least one thing; they were not going to denegrade the sacrifice of the other ‘village godayas’ during the recent war.
The “elite” in Colombo sip their champaigne and wonder what could have been (heavens no, not about those sacrifices!) – Secretary Clinton would have appeared midst them and pose nicely with Fonseka.
He did his job well, as the Army Commander, in combining with the other services, to bring the war to an end. But for his conduct thereafter, what can we say except ‘Silly bugger!’?
well said!
Yeah…Well said. He was also mislead by bunch of comprehensively rejected jokers who them selves called politicians! Ha
Fredrika Janz is following the same trajectory as Gen Fonseka. The Sunday Leader is now the cheerleader for the Rajapakses
Don’t forget that you’re wearing a very short skirt & pom pomps too when you say such things. Because you’re a cheer leader for the other side. haha
will u look after her family if some thing happens.
It was the JVP who selfishly led SF up the garden path which brought about his downfall, from hero to zero, aided by his own incurable ego.
Ranil used him and threw him out
potta harry, so the Army Commander is a child with no brains to
be pushed by JVP.
it was ranil who hooked SF to save his ass, may be for a lot money, jvp just joined as they had no other alternative either.
Some more to come. Where is his Cook from Jaffna? Who is the pregnant suicide woman who was permited to receive medical attention in army hospital? Where is her National Identity Card? Why was she the selected suicide cadre?
why was he given permission to leave to China during the crtical stage of the war? Let us wait for answers. You will see more of his skills and capabilities.
Wicky,
you have addressed the point very correctly. Some valuable topics to think and answer.Yes lets wait and see
The man is getting undressed dearly. “People get what they Deserve”, they say so.
Hey MW
He is getting dressed up smartly man.
Knowing all this,it is sad to note that the “Sunday Leader” backed him in his presidential election campaign.It really exposes your credibility
Sunday leader? credibility? u must be joking!
Unbowed and unafraid – This slogan hardly fits the description of Sunday Leader. If you advertise in their newspaper and contribute towards toward their revenue they will bend the rules and not publish even more sensational news. I am quoting this reliably with my experience with the Newspaper. Why did not they write about Lalith Kotelawela when the writing was on the wall. Frederica Jansz I know too well about your newspaper.
Well said, Editor.
We Sri Lankans certainly are destined to be governed by a bunch of thieves and our incumbent Chief Executive leads them all by leaps and bounds.
Whether or not MR admits it, he owes his presidency to the LTTE and, once elected president, is now above the law in terms of our Constitution (or JR’s ‘bhowbhootha vyawasthawa’ as Chandrika referred to it)
If SF, besides other ‘crimes’ he is accused of committing, is held responsible for (or obliged to account for) the Rs.75 million found in his daughter’s mother-in-law’s lockers, is MR not accountable for the multi-millions, if not multi-billions stacked away for posterity?
As Sarath Fonseka once was, MR is a hero today. His fortunes are bound to change because he, his siblings and cronies cannot hoodwink all Sri Lankans all the tine. When that happens, we will know who the real villain is. Remember what happened to Ferdinand Marcos?
EGP- Why you not go with a lawyer of your chioce to Gotabaya and claim whatever he has got illegaly and also anyother bank accounts you can name. That challenge is still open. Also Basil whom you named “ten per-cent” has already filed his assets and you can claim anything over & above what is in there.Don’t ge guided by those unfounded stories. Be anyalytical and show your worth to listen to and engage in meaningful dialogue. Have your ” HERO” SF filed his “Assets & Liabilities” statements with the Commissioner of Elction as require by law? So don”t talk rot.
Your publication is part of it so why worry..?
Of course, Sunday leader is also a part and parcel of this crime
Whatever it is the JVP and Managla are the ones who gave the dead rope to SF which has now destroyed him and his family. JVP will die for ever at the general election.
you said it brother! they will die a natural death this election. its pity that since 94 they did some good things and gained popularity gradually. But since the arrival of the old man (A)mara-singhe they were fast down the hill.
Vicks,
Please don’t get me wrong. Sarath Fonseka is NOT my hero and I do not hold a brief for him. All I am trying to point out is that, the fact that Mahinda Rajapaksa & Co. have amassed wealth to last for generations is only an open secret. How else could MR’s unemployed offspring own million dollars worth real estate in Manhattan, USA and his sibling/s acquire rubber estates in Sri Lanka.
As aptly pointed in today’s ‘The Sunday Leader’ editorial, (almost) all our politicians are a bunch of thieves. It’s a matter of the pot calling the kettle black.
Winston Churchill reputed to have said that “democracy is rotten, but much better than all other forms of government”.
The vigorous calls for regime change on account of corruption in a democracy have been at times accompanied by installation of a dictatorship. Thailand is one recent example; the underlying motives had more to do with “elite Vs godaya” power struggle with a bit of anti-China, Pro Western sentiment. The latter is clear from the stance west has taken; the red shirts are calling for elections, a thing that the white knights do not want to happen.
I felt that Fonseka was travelling on a path to dictatorship given his utterances. There was a foreign campaign adviser (Mr Campbell?) in Fonseka’s camp, who said that he came to teach Sri Lankans the meaning of democracy. Seasoned political observers know that this sort of statement usually means the opposite.
Sri Lankans should value the rotten democracy we have and not go looking for white knights as there are none around. By all means be critical of the corrupt, but on the same token, reject the calls of the hypocrites.
Already this writer has convicted SF for their murdered Editor Lassantha,
where as MR &clan finding & cooking evidence to frame him,
These fools believe that it was a free & fair election MR won, leave alone
the computer & counting centre fraud, with no chance of countering the false propaganda unleashed by state media with murder assault intimidation & thugherism.
Which honest people will accept this winning?
Coming to the subject thats the way a real commander behaves either
do or perish thats how he won the war no dissent tolerated,
Why cant he take to politics there is no law to forbid him, if I am given the chance I too will opt for the presidency to chase all the corrupt rogue politicians out. same way SF tried as no other person to challenge MR.
He never misread public opinion according to this foolish writer, he was
cheated of his victory, he was not ambitious he knew the consequence
of a failure he never regretted he is brave & bold upto now, there will be another day to fight it out. nobody should underestimate him.
why did MR clan pleaded with their emissary Bhikkhu to give up politics & go abroad as all expenses will be met by the state, because he was a threat to their leadership including Ranil.
SF is unbowed & unafraid still the going is good.
Good for you Mr.sheriff, but its going to be a long wait I’m afraid
The biggest blunder SF made was to beleive the exceptional looser Ranil, this idiot has lost every election he contested, how can he make SF to win. First thing Ponniah Ranil should do is to resign his leadership & give it to a capable person in the UNP, there are many good politicians in the UNP who will give a good fight to MR & win.
SF opened his mouth too wide & ruined his future, if he wanted to say anything about the war crimes, he could have gone to the USA & opened his mouth, then he could have got his revenge of Rajapakse & Bros.
Aw, c’mon now you cant blame ranil for loosing, what can he do when you have only good people and no capable people in the UNP,See if there were any capable persons they would have taken the leadeship from ranil without blaming the UNP constitution.you see even countries have been taken over by capable people!
I feel very sorry for poor Sri lankans. It is run by a top mafia so politicians and there is no future whatsoever. Rich people becoming more richer (All of the rich people are politicians or there family members) Poor getting bad to worse. Atleast it’s good to have a election every 2 months so that the poor people can eat drink at the temple trees and travel on 4×4 SUV’s which is paid by the tax payers.
It’s now portrayed as if General Fonseka is the worst criminal and the worst fraud. It is always possible to do so when a person is reduced to a non- defensible position. It now appears that only General Fonseka is the evil person while the rest of the politicians are saintly honourable creatures! Who is trying to fool the people?
This greedy, foolish and lunatic General well deserved now where he is. The 40 Mn selfish idiots who voted him wasted the value of it.
Pls dont be so harsh.Still he is authorised to use the Rank ‘General’. Lets wait till he is stripped.
I too do agree to Roger. MR & Company play all those games because of this useless Ranil. Poor UNPians have been suffering since so long. ” Atha ” was there. Now anymore. ” Rodaya ” ( Wheel ) has come and gone. So was ” Putuwa “. Accordingly ” Bulath Kolaya ” too will go. But ” Aliya ” will remain. Please do not forget this. UNPians need a Leader who can win the people’s trust. Thereafter all these things will turn round.
WE SINHALESE ARE GENERALLY FOOLISH AND HAVE A HISTORY OF BETRAYING OUR COUNTRY. IF NOT HOW WERE WE RULED BY THE PORTUGUESE, DUTCH AND THEN THE BRITISH.
Now we know one more thing about SF…Not only he has a foul mouth his English too is very poor!
Before he goes begging behind Channel 4 hypocrites he will have to learn the language!
However after the death of that brutla terrorist channel 4 now seem to have found another “friend ” form Sri Lanka!
Pnseka is stufid, he never spokes good english , he never fithing the war ,, his younger officerd did the wars…