SF Attends Trial-at-bar
The Colombo High Court today (28) refixed the trial-at-bar against former Army Commander and DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka for October 4 and 5th.
Fonseka was also present in the Colombo High Court when the controversial “white flag” case was taken up today. He did not attend courts yesterday as he was indisposed.
Court had ordered the publisher of The Sunday Leader newspaper Lal Wickrematunge and its editor Frederica Jansz to be present in courts on the next day of hearing.
Fonseka has been accused of disclosing state secrets for allegedly telling The Sunday Leader newspaper in an interview that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered the shooting of LTTEers who tried to surrender to the security forces carrying white flags during the final stages of the war last year.
Media reports stated that Fonseka’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetti had informed court that through court had directed to hand over a photocopy of the note book used by Jansz for the interview with Fonseka only 30 pages had been handed over. He said there were more than 80 pages in the note book.
Following a request made by Ladduwahetti, the Judges had granted permission for him to personally check the notebook.
Courts fixed the next dates for the hearing for October 4 and 5.
Photos show Fonseka arriving at the Colombo High Court earlier today.
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- Fonseka arriving at court
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- greeting supporters
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- Fonseka, pensive
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- waving
If the charge is for divulging a secret, then the secret must be true, Mustn’t it?
So someone is totally guilty ! :-)
That question shouldn’t arise.By divulging state secrets, he is putting the nation’s lives at risk. After all, the secret was about how the terrorism was annihilated, so what is wrong with that even if it is true!
As you say if the secret is true, where do we stand as a nation?
If the secret is true, the ruthless guy who was responsible for killing over 80,000 innocent people, some 400,000 amputations, causing chaos in all over the country and destroying billions worth infrastructure, property and revenue over 30 years, was holding a white flag and a soldier shot him down. That dawned a new peaceful era for the country. People living in North & East can live without fear and send their kids not to military camps but to schools. People in the country can use public transport with no fear of not being able to return home. What is wrong with that? Is getting rid of terrorism wrong? We as a nation must be happy for the fact that terrorism is over and Fonseka needs to find something else to attack his enemies like Gota.
There are fourhundred thousands cases are pending in the court.Wasting state money.
I don’t understand how you can take a man to trial based on evidence of a note book during an interview?? it could be tampered with and no one could tell the diff.. unless there’s more evidence (like the video footage of MS ordering that man to be tied to a tree – who got off scot free mind you) to prove that he is guilty beyond a doubt. So, in effect what’s happening here is there’s evidence that’s not been divulged to the public or there is no evidence but they are just dragging this man through the mud as an act of vengeance. And my opinion is that the latter is what’s actually happening.
Ruwan Ferdinandez – What’s wrong with it is that, we become terrorists to annihilate terrorism, we become no different to them. Then we should also be prosecuted as terrorists? yes? it’s only logical.
This is all political drama.
his utterance is highly unwanted, unwarranted by a officer of that caliber. whether it true or not is not the matter. if it is true he should have waited until the retirement and presentation of nominations. belated complain is always create a reasonable doubt in the mind of the judge. he was not in battle field to say that in fact it did happen. on the other hand he says that his officers had committed no violations of war crimes. so what is he saying. his intention is to put certain men in trouble unnecessarily. so he will have to face for his own follies. sorry.