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COLOMBO : Sri Lanka's former army chief, now a sworn political enemy of President Mahinda Rajapakse, faced a military court Tuesday on controversial charges that could see him jailed for up to five years.
Sarath Fonseka, a war hero last year after helping end the Indian Ocean nation's 37-year civil war, stepped down as army chief in November and unsuccessfully challenged Rajapakse, his former boss and ally, in January elections.
He faced a three-member panel on Tuesday at the beginning of a court martial on a charge of illegally engaging in politics while serving in the military. He faces a parallel charge of making irregular military procurements.
"The legal team raised preliminary objections to the panel because all three military judges were seen as biased against General Fonseka," the retired general's spokesman Anura Kumara Dissanayake told AFP.
"We also argued that the court martial had no jurisdiction over the retired officer," he said, adding that a hearing for the procurement charge would begin on Wednesday.
Fonseka says the accusations are politically-motivated and part of a vendetta designed to stop him campaigning for parliamentary elections due on April 8.
President Rajapakse has been accused by political opponents and international human rights groups of suppressing dissent and tightening his grip on the opposition and media since his resounding re-election in January.
The proceedings Tuesday ended after nearly three hours with the panel fixing a further hearing for April 6.
Fonseka's wife Anoma said she did not expect justice from the court martial.
"This must be important for people in authority but for us this is a joke," Anoma Fonseka said. "For the entire world, this is a joke. We can't expect any justice from this court martial. They have brought trumped-up charges."
The court convenes again on Wednesday to hear allegations of irregularities relating to military purchases. Journalists are not allowed access to the proceedings.
The military stepped up security in Colombo and dozens of Fonseka supporters were dispersed with tear-gas as they tried to stage a demonstration in the city, police said.
"There will be about 35 witnesses and the process can take a few weeks, if not months," a defence source, who declined to be named, told AFP. "On conviction he could face a jail term ranging from two to five years."
The 59-year-old retired general had refused to cooperate with military investigators, arguing that they have no right to prosecute him under military law since he retired in November.
Fonseka was arrested after senior government figures declared that he was planning a military coup and had conspired to assassinate the president, but none of these more serious charges has been brought against him.
Fonseka and Rajapakse crushed the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels last May ending the guerrillas' nearly four-decade struggle for a Tamil homeland that left up to 100,000 people dead, according to a UN estimate.
At the time, Rajapakse called Fonseka the "best army commander in the world and a national hero". The duo later fell out over who should claim credit for the military victory.
Tuesday's court martial is the first against an army chief in Sri Lanka.
All 11 suspects in an abortive coup attempt in 1962 were convicted in special tribunals but later freed by a higher court which ruled that they had been denied a fair trial.
Sri Lanka's former chief justice, Sarath Silva, on Monday accused the government of violating the constitution by prosecuting Fonseka under military law instead of using the normal legal system which allows open hearings.
Fonseka has challenged his arrest and detention in the Supreme Court, which has fixed a hearing for April 26.
- AFP/vm
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