Sri Lanka's former army chief said Tuesday he was prepared to face a war crimes investigation, but rejected allegations that tens of thousands of civilians were killed by troops under his command. Sarath Fonseka, who was released from jail on Monday after more than two years in detention, led security forces to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 but then fell out with President Mahinda Rajapakse.
"There are certain allegations, but I don't agree that 40,000 civilians died. All that is nonsense," Fonseka told reporters on his first full day of freedom.
"I am ready to clarify and answer these allegations," he added.
Fonseka, who was jailed two weeks after he failed to unseat Rajapakse in January 2010 presidential elections, has repeatedly vowed to testify before any international tribunal despite Colombo's opposition to foreign scrutiny.
The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 after a massive offensive in the northeast that ended decades of separatist warfare.
Fonseka said he agreed with part of a US-led resolution against Sri Lanka in March at the United Nations Human Rights Council urging Sri Lanka to ensure reconciliation and accountability for war crimes.
"There are major areas in the resolution like human rights violations which are true," Fonseka said at his home outside Colombo. "This government has failed in reconciliation."
Fonseka, Sri Lanka's only four-star general, quit the army and tried to topple Rajapakse after the two fell out over who should take most credit for ending the war, which also triggered widespread charges of rights abuses.
Among the accusations from rights groups was that civilians were ordered into no-fire zones and then shelled. The Tiger rebels were also accused of atrocities.
Fonseka, 61, was first jailed for military procurement offences and was then convicted again last year for saying that the president's defence secretary brother Gotabhaya had ordered the execution of rebels after they surrendered.
He was arrested two weeks after he lost to Rajapakse in the presidential election.
Last week he was granted a pardon by the president and he was freed on Monday.
The government has not explained the pardon, but Fonseka told AFP immediately after his release that Rajapakse was under international diplomatic pressure.
A US embassy spokesman in Colombo who declined to be named said it welcomed his release.
"It is noted in our human rights report that we considered Sarath Fonseka a political prisoner," he said.
Fonseka was given a limited pardon, which prevents him from running for elected office for seven years.
However, he said he wanted to strive for "real democracy and human rights" and to provide leadership for his Democratic National Alliance party, which has just three seats in the 225-member parliament. Tweet Bookmark Print Badge the Comments! Give badges to the best comments you see! You will get four badges a day 0 Comments To have full access to the interactive features available in Haveeru Online please register or sign in. or Post a Comment Loading comments... Please wait
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