<p>In an interview with “The Australian” at his home in Colombo, Fonseka said he was planning to speak to the Australian high commissioner about the possibility of temporary asylum.<br />He said he had also spoken to the United States and British embassies in Sri Lanka in this regard.<br /><br />But the man credited with winning the war against the rebel Tamil Tigers last May — along with his former commander-in-chief President Mahinda Rajapakse — revealed he was being prevented from leaving the country.<br /><br />In the wake of Tuesday’s polls in which Rajapakse won a second six-year presidential term by a large margin of 1.8 million votes, Fonseka accused the government of rigging the election and abusing state resources.<br /><br />He also accused it of orchestrating his assassination by withdrawing his security detail, and hinted he would seek temporary political asylum in another country.<br /><br />When asked whether he had considered Australia as an option, he replied: “It’s a good place to go. I have not spoken to the Australian embassy yet; they may give me a visa but (the government) won’t allow me to leave.” He also confirmed he had spoken to staff at the US and British embassies in Sri Lanka. “There’s no charge, no case filed against me (but) they said I can’t leave the country.<br /><br />“In this country, the president interferes with the judiciary, interferes with law and <br />order.”</p>
<p>In an interview with “The Australian” at his home in Colombo, Fonseka said he was planning to speak to the Australian high commissioner about the possibility of temporary asylum.<br />He said he had also spoken to the United States and British embassies in Sri Lanka in this regard.<br /><br />But the man credited with winning the war against the rebel Tamil Tigers last May — along with his former commander-in-chief President Mahinda Rajapakse — revealed he was being prevented from leaving the country.<br /><br />In the wake of Tuesday’s polls in which Rajapakse won a second six-year presidential term by a large margin of 1.8 million votes, Fonseka accused the government of rigging the election and abusing state resources.<br /><br />He also accused it of orchestrating his assassination by withdrawing his security detail, and hinted he would seek temporary political asylum in another country.<br /><br />When asked whether he had considered Australia as an option, he replied: “It’s a good place to go. I have not spoken to the Australian embassy yet; they may give me a visa but (the government) won’t allow me to leave.” He also confirmed he had spoken to staff at the US and British embassies in Sri Lanka. “There’s no charge, no case filed against me (but) they said I can’t leave the country.<br /><br />“In this country, the president interferes with the judiciary, interferes with law and <br />order.”</p>