Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, the Sri Lankan Army Commander during the 2009 Mullivaikkal genocide, has launched a blistering attack on former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, alleging corruption, electoral deals with the LTTE, and deliberate attempts to delay the military offensive in 2009.
Speaking at an event this week, Fonseka declared that Rajapaksa “would have to be sentenced to around 400 years” for what he described as “severe acts of corruption” during his regime. He criticised successive Sri Lankan leaders for lacking vision, contrasting them with figures such as Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohamad and Rwanda’s Juvénal Habyarimana.
“In Sri Lanka, you can call a private jet from Uganda to fly to Thirupathi, claiming it was sent by a friend,” he said and also recalled a 2010 state trip to China during which 65 individuals were reportedly flown on an official SriLankan Airlines charter.
While insisting he did not condone the actions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Fonseka said he “approved the precedent” of holding political leaders accountable.
Fonseka went further, alleging that Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had attempted to delay the military’s advance in early 2009 to suit their political interests.
“I have to make a revelation about the leader who made this statement that I don’t love my country. In 2009, the Sri Lankan Army had surrounded Puthukudirippu from three sides. We only had to advance 10 more kilometres,” Fonseka said. He claimed Gotabaya Rajapaksa questioned whether he was exhausted and suggested handing command to General Jagath Jayasuriya.
“At that point, we were close to victory. They already knew Prabhakaran and his group were about to be destroyed. But they wanted me to delay their downfall,” Fonseka claimed.
Fonseka alleged that Mahinda Rajapaksa then announced a 48-hour ceasefire at the end of January 2009, despite the Sri Lankan National Security Council’s opposition. “The result was that my army had to retreat five kilometres. I lost around 500 soldiers,” he said.
He further claimed that the truce was designed to allow LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior figures to escape through negotiations involving Norwegian mediator Erik Solheim.
“Prabhakaran was a fool. He was convinced the LTTE could rise again during this ceasefire. He didn’t escape — he fought with us,” Fonseka said.
Though Fonseka’s remarks have reignited political tensions, he himself has been repeatedly accused of commanding war crimes and atrocities at Mullivaikkal, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were massacred under his watch. Rights organisations and Tamil survivors have documented mass shelling, summary executions, and sexual violence carried out by the army he led.
The final few weeks of the genocide alone, which Fonseka criticises Rajapaksa for delaying, saw thousands of Tamils killed by the Sri Lankan military.
