The common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, vowed this week that he would not let the LTTE rise again if he were to win the election and pointed to the presence of the former army general Sarath Fonseka within the opposition coalition as proof of this.
Responding to government claims that the opposition would allow the Tamil diaspora to aid a resurgence of the LTTE, Maithripala was quoted by the Sri Lanka Mirror as emphasising that "many who were victimised by the LTTE and many powerful leaders who rose against the LTTE have joined his election campaign." "General Sarath Fonseka is one such leader in this battle. Would he allow the LTTE to rise? Would Ven. Sobhitha Thera, Ven. Rathana Thera like a war to return to the country?," Maithripala reportedly added.General Sarath Fonseka led the army in 2009 at the end of the armed conflict between state forces and the Tamil armed resistance group, the LTTE, and is accused of committing war crimes against the Tamil people during the final stages of the conflict.
See our feature on Maithripala Sirisena: Who is Maithripala Sirisena?