(August 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)A Sri Lankan military court has convicted Sarath Fonseka, a former army chief, of meddling in politics, the AFP news agency has reported quoting a senior military source."The guilty verdict was read out to General Fonseka at the court martial a short while ago," the military source said on Friday.
"The president as commander-in-chief must now ratify the decision," the source said.
The court also rescinded Fonseka's rank and medals, he said.
Fonseka, 59, had been a close ally of Mahinda Rajapakse, the Sri Lankan president, and was key in the military's decisive victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 after more than two decades of civil war.
He, however, fell out with Rajapakse later and unsuccessfully ran against him in the presidential election after quitting the army.
Fonseka was arrested soon after the presidential election that Rajapakse won handsomely.
Although he was in military custody he won a seat in parliament in April.
The three-member tribunal began five months ago.
He is still to be tried before a separate military court to assess whether he took part in corrupt deals, and faces charges in the civilian courts.
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The text of the statement follows;
The Court Martial - 1, probing charges against General Sarath Fonseka’s participation in political work while in active service convicted him of all three charges during its sittings on Friday (13).
The Court is to decide on the sentence and convey it to the convening authority, the President who is the confirming officer as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The convening authority will subsequently convey to the accused, General Sarath Fonseka the sentence meted out to him by the Court, subsequent to the confirmation of the sentence.
The tribunal comprises Major General H.L Weerathunga, (President), Major General A.L.R Wijethunga and Major General D.R.A.B Jayathilaka. Rear Admiral W.W.J.S Fernando serves as Judge Advocate for both Court Martial - 1 and Court Martial - 2. Prosecution led evidence of four witnesses including Minister Jonston Fernando, Mr Gamini Abeyrathna, Parliamentarian Luxman Seneviratne and Major General A.W.J.C De Silva. Mr Rienzie Arsacularatne was the Defence Counsel for General Sarath Fonseka.
The Court Martial - 1 probing charges against General Sarath Fonseka under three separate charges commenced its sittings for the first time on 16th March 2010, in accordance with provisions in the Army Act after it was appointed by HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 11th March 2010 as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on recommendations of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya.
General G.S.C Fonseka joined the Sri Lanka Army on 5th February 1970 and received commissions as a 2nd Lieutenant on 1st June 1971 in the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment. Months after HE the President was elected, he was appointed the Commander of the Army on 6th December 2005. He was promoted to the Rank of a General on 18th May 2009 immediately after the conclusion of the war for peace. On 14th July 2009, he was appointed to the post of Chief of Defence Staff and he retired from the service on 14th November 2009.
 A Sri Lankan military court has convicted Sarath Fonseka, a former army chief, of meddling in polit...){kind=link}
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