The Moment

Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters

Two days after his arrest, Fonseka's supporters vented their fury on Colombo's streets, but opposition to Rajapaksa is in disarray

Sarath Fonseka was a brilliant general, but the faculties that brought him victory over Tamil separatists in the country's 26-year civil war deserted him in politics. By standing in January's presidential election as the head of a motley coalition that included Marxists, Muslims and vanquished Tamils, Fonseka intended to offer a legitimate challenge to President Mahinda Rajapaksa . All Fonseka did was outrage him. Now, the former general has been arrested on unspecified charges of conspiring against the government. Rajapaksa's administration is often accused of alleged abuses (including extrajudicial killings of Tamils and journalists), but he...

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