We are saw this Sri Lanka's Sarath Fonseka 'expects jail sentence'

Sarath Fonseka was once a close ally of President Rajapaksa
Sri Lanka's Sarath Fonseka 'expects jail sentence'

Former Sri Lankan armed forces chief Sarath Fonseka says he expects he will soon be given a jail sentence.

A military court last week sentenced him to be stripped of his rank as a general and dishonourably discharged from the armed forces.

Mr Fonseka, 59, said he expected to receive a jail sentence from a second military court trying him on charges of corruption.

He said he believed the verdict was already planned.

The former general spoke to reporters at the Sri Lankan parliament, to which he was elected in April and which he can attend under military escort.

Mr Fonseka said he would appeal against the first court-martial verdict - which found him guilty of dabbling in politics while still military chief - although he played down the sentence removing his rank, medals and pension.

"Whatever I did for the country, I didn't expect anything in return," he said.

"When I served the country for 40 years, I did not expect medals. I did not expect promotions. I did not expect money. I didn't work on a contract."

'No rule of law'
Mr Fonseka accused Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the government of harassing opposition politicians and he alleged that there was no rule of law on the island.

"They are trying to create a lawless situation, lawlessness in the country," he said.

"That is not in the long-term interest of the country. If there is no law and order in the country, people are not safe."

There are still several other legal cases pending against the former military chief.

The government says he was planning a coup and assassinations earlier this year. It says the law will take its course.

Sarath Fonseka, once very close to President Rajapaksa and his powerful brothers, says he is being victimised for daring to challenge Mr Rajapaksa in presidential elections.
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11033368

We see this Suriname elects former coup leader

Watches this Suriname elects former coup leader


Suriname has elected Desi Bouterse, a former coup leader and convicted drug trafficking, as its new president.

Bouterse, who won a parliamentary vote on Monday, seized power in the small South American republic, twice before through military takeovers.

He was convicted in the Netherlands of cocaine smuggling in 1999and has been accused of human rights violations.

Thirty-six of Suriname's 50 members of parliament voted in favour of Bouterse on Monday, giving him the necessary two-thirds majority.

The vote followed an inconclusive one in May, when the new president's Mega Combination coalition won only 23 seats.

One of the country's richest and most popular politicians, Bouterse signed deals with several rival factions seeking cabinet posts in his new government ahead of the election.

Murder trial

The former military ruler is currently on trial for the murder of 15 political opponents in 1982.

When Al Jazeera spoke with Eddie Duncan, the brother of one of the victims, during parliamentary elections in May, he blamed Bouterse for the killing.

"[Bouterse] is a murderer. He thinks if he wins these elections, the court won't prosecute him"

Eddie Duncan, brother of slain politician

"[Bouterse] is a murderer. He thinks if he wins these elections, the court won't prosecute him," he said.

Bouterse rejects the claims, insisting that he is being persecuted by elites for defending the poor.

"Just look at Mandela. He fought for the poor and they locked him up for 27 years," he said.

Bouterse first seized control of Suriname in a coup in 1980, five years after it gained independence from the Netherlands.

He stepped down under international pressure in 1987, then briefly seized power again three years later.

In 1999, Bouterse was convicted in absentia by a Netherlands court for cocaine trafficking.

Coppied by http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/07/20107205116955850.htm