Political Column, Sunday Times

By the Political Editor

On Friday night, Gen. Fonseka, a US Green Card holder, which affords him permanent residency in that country, flew to the United States accompanied by his wife Anoma. Also travelling was his Military Assistant at the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (OCDS), Brigadier Athula Silva and two commando bodyguards. They boarded a Dubai-bound flight for an onward connection and were due to arrive in Washington DC yesterday. Until Saturday (October 17), Gen. Fonseka`s visit to the US, as revealed last week, was to be part official and part holiday. Official engagements included a meeting in Washington with Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary, South and Central Asian Affairs in the State Department. Another was his presence at the US Pacific Command (PACOM) headquarters in Hawaii. This is to take part in ceremonies where the present commander, Admiral Timothy J. Keating relinquishes office.

Last Saturday, US Ambassador Patricia Butenis, diplomatic sources said, told Gen. Fonseka the US Government had withdrawn the invitation extended to him for the PACOM event. This was conveyed to him during an hour-long meeting at `Jefferson House`, the official residence of the US Ambassador at Colombo`s residential Horton Place. According to these sources, the US Government has been compelled to do so in the light of Thursday`s release of the US Department of State report to the Congress on `Incidents During the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka`. In the light of the references made in the report to Gen. Fonseka, then Commander of the Army, the sources said, `it would be untenable for the US Government to officially host him at any event.`

War crime report

War crime report

This has led to Gen. Fonseka`s entire trip, now pruned, becoming an entirely private visit. He is thus travelling to US mainly to renew his Green Card. According to authoritative sources in Washington, since he is viewed as a would-be US citizen and thus subject to that country`s laws, Gen. Fonseka is likely to be interviewed by Immigration officials before they decide to allow him entry. US Immigration authorities recently followed this procedure in respect of some Sri Lankan officials connected to the defence and security establishment. They had been interviewed for one or two hours. Earlier, Gen. Fonseka was expected to return to Colombo on November 17. In the light of some official programmes being cancelled, he is now likely to return on November 7.

The State Department`s 68-page report to the Congress said that `A media outlet reported on July 18 that at a celebrity event in Ambalangoda, Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka stated that the military had to overlook the traditional rules of war and even kill LTTE rebels who came to surrender carrying white flags during the war against the LTTE.` Military officials have strongly denied Gen. Fonseka having made any such remarks.

Within hours after the Department of State handed over the report to the Congress, Stephen Rapp, the US Ambassador at large for War Crimes Investigation, the Washington Post reported on Friday, had called for a `genuine` investigation `into allegations of war crimes by Sri Lankan troops and Tamil rebels.` The newspaper quoted Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Democrat-Vermont), Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on the State Department and foreign operations, who authorized the report, as saying that it `eliminates any reasonable doubt that serious violations of the laws of war were committed by both` sides.

A full and independent investigation is needed, and those responsible must be held accountable, he had said.