In a shocking revelation, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has claimed that the Rajapaksa family provided \$2 million to the LTTE in 2004 to purchase advanced gunboats used to attack the Sri Lankan Navy. According to Fonseka, this information was shared with him by Basil Rajapaksa during a conversation at the Ministry of Defence in 2008.
Fonseka, the former Army Commander and a key figure behind the defeat of the LTTE, made these allegations during an interview with the Meemasso TV YouTube channel. He further alleged that the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks were a deliberate conspiracy orchestrated by the Rajapaksas to regain political power.
“I can assure you, as the former Army Commander, that the Easter attack was part of a planned conspiracy by the Rajapaksas to seize power,” Fonseka stated. “For people who could steal tsunami relief funds meant for rebuilding a country where 48,000 people died, and for those who gave millions of dollars to the enemy to buy vessels to destroy the national army, killing 250 civilians for political gain is not a serious matter.”
During the interview, Fonseka recalled a critical moment in 2008 when Sri Lanka was facing a shortage of ammunition. China had halted its shipments during the Beijing Olympics, fearing Western backlash for supporting the war. Fonseka approached then-Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, requesting $100 million to procure ammunition from Pakistan. Gotabaya refused, citing financial constraints.
Fonseka then turned to Basil Rajapaksa, who at the time had an office in the Presidential Defence Secretariat. Basil called then-Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara and arranged for funds to be allocated to the military. Eventually, Sri Lanka purchased $65 million worth of ammunition from Pakistan.
It was during this meeting, according to Fonseka, that Basil casually shared a startling story from the 2004 presidential election. “Basil told me he asked Prabhakaran if they could assist in preventing voting in the North. Prabhakaran responded, saying he needed \$2 million to purchase boats from Malaysia. Basil told me he handed over that money to Prabhakaran,” Fonseka claimed.
He added that a Tamil politician from the hill country accompanied Basil during this meeting with Prabhakaran. Though he knows the name, Fonseka chose not to disclose it, saying, “He is still in Parliament.”
“Weren’t the LTTE using those same boats against the Navy until the end of the war?” Fonseka asked rhetorically, expressing outrage that national enemies were empowered with funds allegedly provided by government insiders.
Fonseka concluded by emphasizing the gravity of the allegations: “If someone could aid the enemy in destroying the national army, exploit tsunami aid, and kill 250 people just to win a presidential election, then the depth of that political conspiracy is beyond comprehension.”
