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Stewart Sloan
(The opinions expressed at the author's own)
Published in the Sri Lanka Guardian, October 7, 2010
So how does the Rajapakse regime reconcile their treatment of former LTTE cadres who fought for the overthrow of the government of Sri Lanka with that of the General who fought, and suffered terrible injuries, to rescue it from their clutches? Now bereft of his medals and his military pension, his future is bleak, even if he were to be released tomorrow.
In a rare gesture of compassion the Rajapakse regime has announced the release of a group of Tamil Tiger rebels after only 16 months of government detention. Can we hope for a similar gesture for Sarath Fonseka?
Do not misunderstand me, I have written adverse comments about what I consider to be the 'two faces' of the General in these columns in the past and I have not changed my mind. The General announced to the world that he would be happy to testify before the UN on the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the closing days of the war with the LTTE, only to announce a few days later that, yes, he would testify, but only to clear the good name of the Sri Lanka Army. This I considered to be a terrible 'about-face' and not worthy of a man capable of defeating the might of the LTTE and standing up to the Rajapakse regime.
However, there are extremely serious discrepancies in the way that former LTTE cadres are being treated in comparison with the General.
Take the situation of Daya Master, the former media officer and the official translator George Master who surrendered to the Sri Lanka Army during the last days of the war and who were released after only a few months by the Magistrate's Court of Colombo. They now live in comfortable circumstances as opposed to the General, who, it is reported, sleeps on the concrete floor of his cell.
Kumaran Pathmanadan, internationally known as KP, was the chief procurer of arms for the LTTE. He was widely believed to have been the mastermind behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and upon the death, under suspicious circumstances, of the LTTE leader, Prabakaran, an announcement made by the LTTE's Executive Committee declaring him to be their newly appointed leader. He was arrested on August 5, 2009 but continues to live the life of Riley. Although officially in the custody of the Sri Lanka Army he lives in luxury and is in frequent communication with the outside world from the confines of his velvet cage.
So how does the Rajapakse regime reconcile their treatment of former LTTE cadres who fought for the overthrow of the government of Sri Lanka with that of the General who fought, and suffered terrible injuries, to rescue it from their clutches? Now bereft of his medals and his military pension, his future is bleak, even if he were to be released tomorrow.
Sadly this is just another piece of evidence that reveals how the regime is manipulating the justice system of Sri Lanka for their own ends. We must wonder what promises were made by the Masters and KP to avoid having to sleep on the floor of a concrete cell.
Stewart Sloan served as a civilian officer for seven years with the Special Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. In December 2001 he was awarded a Commanding Officer's Commendation for "Attention to duty of a high order displayed in the pursuit of an operation of major security importance." Stewart currently words as an Editorial Assistant for a human rights NGO based in Hong Kong.
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