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Sri Lanka's former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka on Thursday said that toppling the government and creating a new political culture was his aim, ruling out any possibility of working with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking at the first press conference since his conditional release from jail on May 12, Fonseka was upbeat of his role and insisted that he would work with a common opposition to defeat the government. "There is a corrupt government and a corrupt political culture so we have to first get rid of the corrupt government. If we want to benefit from the new political culture, I am talking about we will have to topple the government and then we have to come into power and implement this new political culture," he said. Talking to the media, he also categorically ruled out joining the government or working with President Mahinda Rajapaksa as he said the president "could not be trusted." Reiterating the need to change what he called a "corrupt political culture with a complete breakdown of law and order," Fonseka said his service would be to "free the people from a suppressive regime." Pledging his life to this cause, he called on the opposition to unite and accept a leader that will be picked by the people. Under the conditions of his release, Fonseka cannot contest in an election for seven years but he insisted that with people's support he would be able to overcome this hurdle.

Sri Lanka's former army commander vows to topple government