Colombo, May 22 (Xinhua-ANI): Sri Lanka's main opposition party on Tuesday invited former army commander Sarath Fonseka to join its alliance.
General Secretary of the United National Party (UNP)Tissa Attanayake said that an invitation has been issued to Fonseka following his release from prison on Monday.
"We had invited Fonseka to join our opposition alliance on an earlier occasion and now we would like to openly invite him again, " Attanayake told a media briefing in the capital.
Fonseka contested the presidential election in 2010 as a joint opposition candidate which was supported by the UNP.
However this time the UNP is seeking Fonseka's support for opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who had pushed for Fonseka' s release from prison.
Attanayake said that the UNP would like Fonseka to join them as they look to agitate against the government over the rise in the cost of living and other national issues.
Several UNP members were seen at a local hospital on Monday where Fonseka was receiving treatment just before he appeared in court and then prison from where he was released.
Fonseka's debut into politics in 2010 saw him lose the presidential election against incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He also formed the Democratic National Alliance and obtained a seat in parliament but subsequently lost his seat after he was arrested and jailed over several charges and was removed of his civil rights.
Fonseka led the army during the final military operation against the Tamil Tiger rebels but following the defeat of the rebels in May 2009 he resigned from the army to enter politics.
In 2010 he was arrested and jailed over allegations of being involved in an illegal arms deal, harboring army deserters and for reportedly telling a local newspaper that unarmed rebels who had surrendered to the army during the final war were killed.
Fonseka was pardoned by President Rajapaksa over the weekend and released from prison on Monday. (Xinhua-ANI)
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