Dropping another bombshell, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka revealed yesterday that Rajapaksas had negotiated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty International to allow LTTE leaders including Velupillai Prabhakaran to surrender whereas the army wanted to wipe them out, and claimed that if they were to surrender, Prabhakaran would have been the Chief Minister of the North now.
Fonseka told a news conference that Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa had held a discussion with ICRC chief and Amnesty International representative on the morning of May 17, 2009 to give an opportunity for LTTE leaders to surrender.
He said this while leaking a video of a telephone conversation which he claimed to have taken place between the then defense secretary and Shavendra Silva in the evening of May 17, 2009 about allowing the LTTE leaders to surrender.
Explaining the telephone conversation, Fonseka said the Rajapaksas had discussed with the ICRC and Amnesty International to allow LTTE leaders to surrender and added that however, the LTTE had refused to surrender to the army but had wanted to surrender to a third party.
He said according to the telephone conversation, Rajapaksa’s had objected to the LTTE surrendering to a third party and had wanted them to surrender to the army. However, he said the plan had failed as the LTTE had refused to surrender to the army and added that if LTTE leaders had agreed to surrender to the army, LTTE leaders including Prabhakaran would still be living and he would be the Chief Minister of the North.
Fonseka said he was in China on that particular day and that he was not informed of the said discussions with the ICRC and Amnesty International and added that the army was planning to wipe out the LTTE.
He said when the discussion took place on May 17, 2009, the LTTE leaders had been confined to an area of 400 meters and added that LTTE knew that they would be dead within the next few hours.
Fonseka said the army did not want to save LTTE leaders but had planned to wipe them out.
He said army was able to wipe out the LTTE on May 19, 2009 as the LTTE refused to agree to the Rajapaksa’s request to surrender to the army.
Fonseka said the journalist who had video recorded the telephone conversation hae fled the country in fear of being killed and added that he got hold of the video very recently through a third party.