Extreme tension in Sri Lanka

While the outgoing president Mahinda Rajapakse is given as reelected by the electoral commission the hotel of his adversary the ex-chief of the armies is surrounded by the soldiers. The latter rejects the result of the ballot.

Sarath Fonseka has requested the protection of a foreign country to ensure its safety in the face of what he considers “intimidation”.

About 80 soldiers are stationed around the Hotel de Fonseca in the center of Colombo the capital.

This member of the opposition “condemns this military deployment and calls on the government to become aware of this very serious situation”.

The government accuses Fonseka and the opposition of fomenting a “conspiracy against the victory of the president”.

Mahinda Rajapakse won according to the electoral commission a large electoral success with 57.9% of the vote after a campaign punctuated by violence.

He had called this ballot two years before the end of his mandate in order to take advantage of the wave of support he had received after the victory against the Tamil rebels.

Sri Lanka announced last May its victory against the Tamil Tigers after a conflict of nearly 40 years which left between 80,000 and 100,000 dead.

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