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Lanka feared coup, reveals ex-army chief Fonseka | Days after General Sarath Fonseka resigned as Sri Lanka's Chief of Defence Staff, his resignation letter reveals that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was so afraid of a military coup after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers that he warned India to place its troops on high alert. The Sri Lankan and Indian Governments, however, have not responded
to this charge as yet, though media reports emanating from the island nation suggest
that the Indian armed forces were put on high alert on October 15 after Colombo
expressed fears over a possible military takeover. In his resignation letter,
an offended Fonseka reveals that in reaching out to India, the army's image had
been tarnished and he as its past commander had no other option but to resign.
An excerpt from his letter reads: "It was noted that the same army which gained
victory for the nation was suspected of staging a coup and thereby alerting the
Government of India once again on the 15th of October 2009, unnecessarily placing
the Indian troops on high alert. This action did tarnish the image and reputation
gained by the SLA . This suspicion would have been due to the loyalty of the SLA
towards me as its past Commander who led the Army to the historic victory." Government
sources in Delhi told a private television channel that the Centre was aware of
the fears of a coup in Lanka. The sources added that the Indian Army was not put
on alert and there was no intention of military action in Sri Lanka . The present
rift in Sri Lanka comes as India 's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee visits Colombo
from today. Fonseka is now expected to challenge Rajapaksa in a presidential election
due by April 2010. |
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