Ranil Wickremasinghe meets Rajapaksa, asks him to release Fonseka

Sri Lanka's Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe today asked president Mahinda Rajapaksa to release the Gen Sarath Fonseka immediately and expressed his willingness to meet the detained former army chief.

Ranil met Rajapaksa this morning and sought his intervention in the release of Fonseka, who was taken into custody by the army on Monday for allegedly planning a coup against the government while in service.

Democratic People's Front Leader Mano Ganesan told PTI that the meeting between Ranil and the President lasted for nearly an hour.

"The opposition leaders of various political parties met last evening in this regard and we decided that Ranil Wickremasinghe will go and meet the president seeking Fonseka's release," he said.

United National Party leader Tissa Attanayaka said Ranil urged Rajapaksa to permit him to meet the defeated Opposition presidential candidate.

He said no one except his wife and lawyer had been permitted to meet the detained general. 

"Wickremasinghe explained to the president that General Fonseka's arrest was illegal. He also requested to him to release the General as soon as possible. Wickramasinghe further told the President that he wanted to meet General Fonseka," Daily Mirror quoted Attanayake to say.

Wickremasinghe had on Wednesday told reporters that neither the constitution nor the army Act contained any legal provisions for the continued detention of the former army commander.