Monday, February 8, 2010
Where is my father?

I am Aparna Fonseka, youngest daughter of General Sarath Fonseka of Sri
Lanka. Today, 8 February 2010, I decided to start this blog because of the
unfortunate and disgraceful incident that happened to my father. I am
tired of watching from the sidelines and reading what people have written
without being able to defend. However vile, destructive or poisonous the
remarks about him and my family have been, I’ve been listening silently.
I’ve stayed silent even after there was an assassination attempt on his
life. I’ve been silent when they accused my brother-in-law of being an
arms dealer. I’ve been silent when they surrounded our house and put us
under arrest. But today, my father was dragged away before his family and
his life is in danger again. I’ve decided that I cannot be a silent
spectator any more.

My father dedicated forty years of his life to serving my motherland, Sri
Lanka. Unlike other politicians or top officials, he did not earn a single
penny other than respect from his country men. He rescued Sri Lanka from
the ruthless terrorists, the LTTE (Liberation of Tamil Tiger Eelam), who
spread fear and violence in the nation. Today, he was arrested without a
warrant or a valid reason at his office in a manner that even a criminal
or enemy would not be treated.

The person who came to the office to arrest my father was Major General
Sumith Manawadu who was the officer in charge of Mullaitivu during the
Eelam War IV and he was transferred to the Army headquarters in Colombo as
punishment for issuing wrong orders to the ground troops, which resulted
in the death of 117 soldiers in combat. According to what I’ve seen in
newspapers, The Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa knew of this rift
and used Major General Manawadu for several operations against my father.
It was Major General Manawadu who also played the role of Commanding
Officer in “Operation Trans Asia†who kept us under house arrest till the
election results were called off and spread false rumors saying we were
keeping army deserters. The only men who were with us on Election Day were
my cousins, some party leaders, few retired army officers and the men who
were legally appointed by the court for my father’s protection. The state
media published news stating that the military that surrounded the hotel
was for our own protection. This coming from a government who wouldn’t
even assign enough military personnel for my father’s protection after he
had resigned! Why would they send five hundred for our protection on
Election Day? It was another story that the government cooked to silence
skeptics and dampen questions that were being raised. We had decided to go
to a hotel because of the threats we’d been getting from the government.

The state media is trying to label my father as a traitor to brainwash
civilians. The rural areas only hear the voice of the state media and if
some person raise their voice against the government in power, they will
lose their jobs and even their lives. As soon as the election was over,
the government seized my father’s office, took most of the equipments, and
with no valid reason, arrested over 13 men who worked there. This was only
the beginning they had launched against my father. They fired 14 military
officers with the accusation that they were planning a military coup.
There is no evidence for any of these allegations but I am also aware that
they are capable of making false evidences after taking these people under
arrest. Democracy in Sri Lanka has screeched to a halt. As the president
said after the rigged election results were announced, “the law is equal
to every person who lives in the country but to the president.â€

On 2009, my father was known as the best army commander in the world. (Eg.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items09/150109-8.html) Everyone wanted to
know his methods and tactics. They were impressed by how he ended
terrorism which had been going on for almost three consecutive decades. I
can wholeheartedly say that he is the most patriotic man I know and
possibly the most patriotic man who has ever lived in Sri Lanka. He
sacrificed his life in the war not once, but three times! Sri Lanka, what
more do you want from him?

Only my mother, sister and I can understand the amount of work and thought
he put into the miraculous victory. There were countless days when I fell
into restless sleep not knowing whether he would arrive home from work
safely because of the many threats he had on his life. For weeks we
wouldn’t see him because he had gone to join our brave soldiers at the war
front. After the suicide bomber’s attempt, I sat for two whole days in the
emergency room praying for a miracle to save my father’s life.

Now, I am sitting here clueless begging people for information and for
help. I do not know where my father is, where they’ve taken him, what
they’ve done to him. Why are they attacking him? For trying to save our
country from corruption? Or because he is the only man with courage enough
to stand up against the corrupt government? Or is it because he was the
only one who understood the hardships of Sri Lankan civilians who live
from one day to the next? My father is a hero and this is how they show
their gratitude? I need my father back. This is an urgent and sincere
request to help find him.

Sincerely,

Aparna Fonseka

(Daughter of General Sarath Fonseka)