The Wire: Sri Lankan opposition leader arrested

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Produced by Jacinta Patterson

In Sri Lanka, the main opposition leader has been arrested after the government accused him of what it termed 'military offences'. Sri Lanka held its general election last month – the first since the end of the country’s lengthy civil war. Former military leader General Sarath Fonseca ran an unsuccessful campaign against his former commander-in-chief, President Mahendra Rajapaksa. His arrest came just hours after he told reporters he’d be willing to give evidence about war crimes he alleges took place during the conflict. Featured in this story: Dr Sam Pari, spokesperson for the Australian Tamil Congress; Dr Jake Lynch, director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University.
    
To download audio: http://www.thewire.org.au/audio/FINAL%20sri%20lanka%203%2756.mp3
To listen from source: http://www.thewire.org.au/daydetail.aspx?SearchDay=2010-02-09

 

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