Word: arrests
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...Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in last month's elections and was defeated by nearly 2 million votes - a few complaints of polling irregularities notwithstanding. On Feb. 8, Fonseka was seized by military police for allegedly conspiring to launch a coup, a charge his supporters say is trumped up. The arrest has deepened concerns over the increasing heavy-handedness of Rajapaksa's rule, which has seen allegations of human-rights abuses as well as the suppression of journalists and other organs of dissent. For Fonseka, who is due to be court-martialed, it's a long fall from the glory days...
...This is a military matter that has nothing to do with politics." - Brigadier V.U.B. Nanayakkara, a Sri Lankan military spokesman, in the wake of the Feb. 8 arrest on the grounds of committing "military offences" (New York Times...
...troops spoke to General Fonseka and the way they forcibly dragged him away is a disgrace to the security forces. It is a shameful way to treat your former commander." - Rauf Hakeem, leading Sri Lankan Muslim politician and Fonseka ally, after witnessing Fonseka's arrest...
...government is expected to dissolve parliament in the next few days and call legislative elections. Fonseka had indicated that he would be a candidate and had been negotiating an electoral pact with opposition parties when the arrest took place...
...Fonseka's arrest is likely to fuel opposition protests that have remained lukewarm until now. The opposition held a protest rally in Colombo on Feb. 3 in which Fonseka participated. Opposition parties had vowed to continue with protests even before the arrest...