If I knew, I would have tried to correct him – President

If I had known that Sarath Fonseka’s son-in-law was an arms dealer, I would have warned him or tried to correct him, President Rajapaksa told the Hindu in a candid interview published today.

When questioned on how the fact that the President knew Fonseka personally and his role as the President interact, he stated that it was a really difficult yet whether you are the Army Commander or not, if you do something wrong, you will have to face it.

An excerpt of the interview;

The other issue that is commented upon and criticised is the jailing and conviction of your former Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka. Neither he nor any member of his family has asked for a presidential pardon. Is it a political problem in Sri Lanka?

No, it’s not a political problem. The law is for all; everybody is equal before the law. Whatever wrong things they have done, they have to face it. People understand this. Some Opposition MPs, thinking they can use this as a platform to gain political advantage, are using his name. But I don’t think it’s a matter over which people are excited. They are not interested.

Neither the UNP nor even the JVP seems to have taken this up in a serious way.

No. When they want to say something or do something, they bring this up.

One is the rule of law and the President’s role. But there is also a personal side. He was your Army Commander, you knew him personally. How do these two sides interact?

Yes, it’s really difficult. But whether you are the Army Commander or not, if you do something wrong, you will have to face it. We never thought he was a man like that, we didn’t know. When he came forward as a candidate, somebody informed and said his son-in-law was an arms dealer. We never knew about this. He didn’t admit it either. He should have informed us. He sat as chairman of the tender board; no Army Commander had done that earlier. We made a man who was supposed to retire in a little while the Army Commander. If I had known that his son-in-law was an arms dealer, I would have warned him or tried to correct him.