Colombo Telegraph: White Flag Case:Justice Warawewa’s judgment contradicts Wikileaks

By Colombo Telegraph (November 20, 2011)
original post source: Colombo Telegraph: White Flag Case:Justice Warawewa’s judgment contradicts Wikileaks

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was sentenced to three years in jail and fined Rs.5000 in a two-one split verdict delivered in the white flag case with two judges finding him guilty on one of the charges while one of the judges WTMPB Warawewa acquitted him on all three charges. However, according a leaked US diplomatic cable Fonseka did discuss the “white flag story” with the American Ambassador Patricia A. Butenis at a lunch meeting with UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya the day Sunday Leader story was published. The Ambassador wrote “ “After Fonseka arrived, the former general discussed his interview in the Sunday.

Leader news paper on December 13, in which he had accused Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of ordering at the end of the war the shooting of any LTTE leaders who might try to surrender under flags of truce.” She further wrote to Washington. “Fonseka claimed he did not know until two days later about the flurry of phone calls between Gotabhaya, the Norwegian ambassador, and the LTTE leadership regarding surrender and said he had been told details by journalists”

Photo: Judges Deepali Wijesundera (President) (C)W.T.M.P.B. Warawewa (R) and M.Z. Razeen (L) (November 18, 2011)

See External links for Excerpts of judgment:
Excerpts of judgment by Deepali Wijesundara President of the High Court Trial-at-Bar, and Judge Zulfikar Razeen. Why Gen Sarath Fonseka was found guilty on the first charge? - Transcurrents
Excerpts of judgement by by Judge W.T.M.P.B. Waraweera: Why Gen. Sarath Fonseka was found not guilty on all three charges? -  Transcurrents

Below Excerpts of the judgment by Judge W.T.M.P.B Warawewa and the related US Embassy Cable.

Excerpts of the judgment by Judge W.T.M.P.B Warawewa:

This case is based on an interview the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka gave The Sunday Leader Editor Frederica Jansz in December 2010.

White Flag Case Verdict: General Fonseka Rejects Unfair Judgment (18 Nov 2011)

Original post source Sunday Times: Amidst Fonseka furore MR faces vital issues: (Sunday November 20, 2011)
"Don't the people have the right to speak?...it is an unfair judgment... I reject this judgment with disgust... If the people accept that injustice was done to me... I call upon them to rise against injustice... I salute the judge who held that I was not guilty of the charges. His bravery is an honour to the judiciary" General Sarath Fonseka was convicted and sentenced to three more years in jail and fined Rs 5,000. He was to serve a further six months if the fine was not paid. The sentence on Fonseka will run consecutively after he completes his present 30 month jail term.

Three-member bench -- Deepani Wijesundera (presiding), with Zulficar Razeen and W.T.M.P.B. Warawewa -- convened at 11.30 a.m., Friday 18 Nov 2011.

Two judges (Ms. Wijesundera and Razeen) had found Fonseka guilty of the first count -- violating the emergency regulations (since withdrawn) by telling Frederica Jansz, Editor of The Sunday Leader, that Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had ordered (then) Brigadier Shavendra Silva not to let any Tiger rebels waving white flags "to surrender and kill them all." This was during the final stages of the war in May 2009.

-Second charge: he had, by making those remarks "aroused communal feelings directly or indirectly."
-Third count: "arousing anti-government feelings among the public and creating disputes among them."
-A dissenting judgment by Warawewa who had ruled that Fonseka was not guilty of all three charges.