Word: generals
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...crowd of some 2,500 Fonseka supporters converged in front of the court complex, joined by leaders of opposition parties and Anoma Fonseka, wife of the general. During her husband's run for the presidency, Anoma made few appearances on the stump, but since his arrest, she has come to foreground. A day after his arrest, she tearfully met with the media. "Why is he treated like this?" she asked tearfully. "He is a war hero, and now he is in jail." Fonseka's 40-year career culminated in the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam...
...Wednesday Anoma was more composed, drawing the largest and loudest cheers from the crowd. "These protesters have come here without us forcing them," opposition parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told TIME. "The fight for democracy is not dead." The opposition leaders surrounding the general's wife also vowed to continue to protest his arrest. "This is just the beginning. We will not stop until justice is done," said Somawansha Amarasinghe, leader of the People's Liberation Front, a prominent opposition party that supported Fonseka in his campaign...
...government has maintained that the general was taken into custody in accordance with correct procedure. Under Army Act section 57, any retired officer or soldier is considered a military officer for six months (after retirement), Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeyawardena told reporters today. Fonseka retired from the post of Chief of Defense Staff on Nov. 12. The government minister also warned that until court proceedings are concluded, any public expression of opinion about the matter is prohibited. "The opposition is trying to get innocent civilians onto the streets to achieve their political ends. They should not put innocent lives...
...Lawyers representing Fonseka are planning to petition the Supreme Court challenging his arrest and seeking a decision declaring the poll null and void, Tissa Attanayake, the general secretary of the United National Party said. The opposition has already raised objections to the elections commissioner over vote rigging, but commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has since declared the elections, which President Rajapaksa won by a majority of 1.8 million votes, as fair...
...protest was over. The traffic was once again bad, the buses were belching, and the heat unbearable. Die-hard Fonseka supporters have vowed to continue the protests, which have yet to gain the support of wider civil-society groups. "We will go on. We will not stop till our general is given back to us," Vinni Siegera, a middle-aged woman who had attended the rally without an invitation, told TIME, beads of sweat on her forehead. The next few days will make it clear whether those like her have wider support in the country...