Mahinda declared a ceasefire to let Prabhakaran escape –Sarath Fonseka

08-Oct-2025

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Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has accused former President Mahinda Rajapaksa of committing treason, claiming that he ordered a ceasefire during the final stages of the war in 2009 to allow LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to escape, an act that led to the deaths of over 4,000 soldiers.

Speaking at an event in Matara, Fonseka alleged that the Rajapaksas, who now shed “crocodile tears” for soldiers, had in 2005 provided US$2 million to the LTTE for purchasing arms in exchange for electoral support to secure victory in the presidential election.

He stated, “Namala Rajapaksa now admits it was wrong to imprison me. They pretend to care for soldiers today, but back then, they interrogated my daughters who were studying at an American university by bringing them to Sri Lanka and questioning them overnight at the airport. Even Prabhakaran, whom we fought face-to-face on the battlefield, never touched my family.”

Fonseka said that unlike Prabhakaran, the Rajapaksas targeted the families of army officers, dismissing 35 senior officers without pension and threatening companies not to employ them.

According to him, Mahinda Rajapaksa issued orders for a ceasefire between January and February 2009 to help Prabhakaran escape. “If he hadn’t given that order, we would have finished the war by March. 

Because of that decision, more than 4,000 soldiers lost their lives,” he said.

Fonseka demanded that the government file charges against Mahinda Rajapaksa and initiate a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, emphasizing that this was a betrayal of the nation.

He further recalled that during the 2005 election, fearing that the northern and eastern populations would vote for Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Rajapaksa camp negotiated with intermediaries like Emil Kanthan and agreed to support Prabhakaran in preventing Tamil voters from casting ballots in exchange for “mutual cooperation.”

Fonseka said Basil Rajapaksa told him that $2 million was given to the LTTE for purchasing boats from Malaysia — boats later used by the Sea Tigers in attacks. “If this happened in any other country, Mahinda would have been executed for treason,” he added.