Zimbabwe Star
ZimbabweStar.com Friday 10th February 2012 Volume 41/2012
Follow us on Follow us on TwitterFollow us on facebook








  • More World News

  • 700 fall ill after eating at Mexico rally
  • Man held 19 years after stealing one million pound
  • 15 tonnes of methamphetamine seized in Mexico
  • Huge pet crocodile seized in Mexico
  • Five Chinese held for illegal blood trade
  • Crucial weekend for Madrid, Barca in La Liga
  • Buffett firm to open 1,000 ice cream stores in China
  • China to crack down on illegal gun possession
  • FIFA urges Uganda football federation to amend constitution
  • Chinese held for poaching panda 17 years ago
  • Saudi held in Malaysia for insulting Islam
  • Chinese vice president aims to end trust deficit with US
    Get World News headlines emailed to you daily.

    Sri Lanka's ex-army chief ends fast
    Zimbabwe Star
    Tuesday 9th March, 2010  
    (IANS)


    Sri Lanka's former army chief General Sarath Fonseka, arrested over the charges of conspiring to topple the government, has called off his hunger strike after being allowed to speak to his daughters via his wife's mobile phone.

    Fonseka suspended his fast unto death Tuesday after the military granted him permission to talk to his two daughters in the US, his wife Anoma Fonseka said.

    She said that the military had contacted her late Monday evening, asking her to visit her husband immediately with her mobile phone.

    'I went to see my husband at around 11 in the night after the military called me. He spoke to his daughter's through my mobile phone and now he is a bit relieved,' she was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror Online.

    The military had earlier provided telephone facilities to Fonseka which he had refused insisting that he would stop his fast only if he was given his wife's mobile phone.

    Meanwhile, the army has said that the former general, who has been detained since February after being defeated in the Jan 26 presidential election, will be court martialed in the next few days.

    The summary of evidence over the charges gainst Fonseka has already been completed and handed over to army commander over the past weekend.

    Fonseka will be tried on over five charges under the Army Act and will face a court martial within the next few days, Army spokesman Major General Prasad Samarasingha told Daily Mirror Online.

    Samarasingha said that legal officers in the Army Directorate of Legal Services are now in the process of reviewing the contents and maintain that there is a prima facie case against Fonseka on more than five charges.

    The Army Commander, in receipt of legal consultations, was expected to appoint the court martial for trial in the next few days, He added.

    The summary of evidence, recorded by Army Chief of Staff Major General Daya Rathnayaka, was completed within a period of 22 days after obtaining evidence from 35 individuals, including 22 army personnel, seven police officers and six civilians, he said.


      Email this story to a friend

    Have your say on this story

    Your nickname (required)
    Message