Anoma, wife of detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, has said the General realises it will be difficult for him to come out of the military detention, even as she vowed to make every effort to secure the release of her husband charged with treason.
"General Fonseka, of course, likes to come out but he has realised that it is not easy to do so," she said, adding she has faith in the judiciary.
"I believe that the pressure exerted (on government) by various quarters in the country for the release of Gen Fonseka has been up to now satisfactory. But releasing him can be done only through legal proceedings and we thoroughly believe in judiciary," Anoma told 'The Nation' newspaper.
59-year-old Fonseka is heading the Marxist JVP-dominated opposition Democratic National Alliance (NDA) in the April 8 Parliamentary polls that will take on the UNF led by former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and the ruling UPFA of president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Last week, Anoma filed a habeas corpus petition seeking Fonseka's release from army detention after producing him before the Appeal Court.
The petition cited Army Commander Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya, head of the Military Police BrigEKJK Wijesiri, Navy Commander vice admiral TSP Samarasinghe and the attorney general as respondents.
Noting that Fonseka provided leadership to the army in defeating LTTE, it says even the Defence Secretary admits the general was an excellent army commander.
The petition says that since Fonseka has retired from the Army, he no longer comes under the control of the force.
In the petition, Anoma requested that Fonseka be produced before the Appeal Court and dealt with under the ordinary law of the country. She also appealed that Fonseka be released under any condition the court sees fit.
Asked how she was managing both the election campaign on behalf of her husband, who is contesting from the Colombo district, and the court, Anoma said women had intrinsic strength to handle such challenges.
"I have to do it. As a woman I believe that there is enormous strength within us that no one else has. So I am using that strength to overcome matters. Also there are various factions who still stay close to me giving me the necessary guidance and strength in due course," she said.
To a query on her son-in-law Danuna Tilakaratne who has reportedly gone untraceable after being accused of wrong-doing
in securing an arms deal for security forces when Fonseka was army chief, she said she was not aware of anything about him.
"I am not his (Danuna's) mother. I faced many problems from the day General (Fonseka) was abducted ?" as I do not believe he was arrested... I go home very late these days as everything related to the General is being done by me. So others too do not expect me to look into other matters," Anoma told the paper.
"If I know the whereabouts of Danuna I too will be happy as he is my son-in-law. But I know one thing - all these charges are baseless and hold no grounds. They are trying to take advantage from this bad time. However, truth will win one day," she said.
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