Sri Lanka top general retires, may run for president

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's top general, who engineered the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after a 25-year war, submitted his resignation on Thursday amid speculation he will run for president.

General Sarath Fonseka, the Chief of Defence Staff, is expected to challenge his commander in chief, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in an election which may be held by April.

If Fonseka enters the race, he is expected to weaken Rajapaksa's core voter base and erode the incumbent's present monopoly on claiming political capital from the war victory.

"I gave my retirement papers," General Sarath Fonseka told reporters. "I have been serving my country in the past and I will serve the country in future as well."

When asked whether he planned to run in the election, Fonseka said: "I can't comment as I am still in uniform. I will decide my future once my retirement comes into effect at the end of this month. I have the same basic right as anybody else."

A source close to Rajapaksa told Reuters the president had said that he would accept Fonseka's resignation without delay.

He and another military source said Fonseka's retirement letter, in which he had stated he would retire with effect from Dec. 1, had been handed to the president.

In July, Rajapaksa promoted the then-army commander to a newly created post, chief of defence staff, which many analysts saw as neutralising the wide powers Fonseka had been given in wartime.