Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday appointed a three-member court martial panel to try detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka on treason charges and the proceedings against him would be launched on March 16.

Sri Lankan authorities have completed summary of evidence over conspiracy charges against detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka and are likely to initiate a court martial against him shortly.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that he will press ahead with setting up a special panel on accountability in Sri Lanka, despite Colombo rejecting his proposal.

A Sri Lankan federal minister on Monday alleged that "certain Indian officials" wanted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to lose the recent polls and worked towards it, but India rejected the claims saying it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka facing detention under treason charges, now at a naval facility today went on a hunger strike for not being allowed to speak to his daughters on telephone who are overseas.

The United Nations has proposed to set up an expert panel to look into alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the civil war in Sri Lanka, triggering a sharp reaction from the country's President Mahinda Rajapaksa who rejected the move.

Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene does not even want to talk about the March 3 attack on his team in Lahore last year while Meher Khalil, who drove the Lankans to safety under a hail of bullets and grenades, still shivers with horror whenever he recalls the episode.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today claimed that his coalition will form a "stable government" after the April 8 Sri Lankan parliamentary polls, in which an opposition party has fielded ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka.

President Rajapaksa proceeded to win re-election, receiving over 57% of all votes cast. Fonseka received over 40%.

Sri Lanka's detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka today filed nomination papers as a candidate of a new opposition alliance for the April 8 Parliamentary poll, which is set to witness a three-cornered fight also involving the ruling UPFA and former premier Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNF.

Sri Lanka's detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka would lead a new opposition alliance dominated by Marxist JVP in the April 8 Parliamentary polls and contest from one of the key constituencies here, with his wife Anoma set to campaign across the country on his behalf.

Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who is facing sedition charges, will face a military court "very soon", a media report said on Monday.

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Thursday admitted a petition challenging the arrest of defeated Presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka and said it will hear the case on February 23.

Violence continued in Sri Lanka for the second staraight day today as agitated supporters of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka demanded his immediate release and fought pitched battles with police, who used batons to disperse them.

As Sri Lanka's jailed former army chief Sarath Fonseka's fate remains uncertain, the authorities last night allowed his wife to meet him, a top military official said today.

Sri Lankan opposition leader Sarath Fonseka's wife, Anoma, today accused the government of abducting her husband and asked for help to trace his whereabouts.

Sri Lanka's defeated opposition presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka was tonight arrested by the military police, a fortnight after he suffered defeat at the hands of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today said national reconciliation involving Tamils and other communities was a priority for his government after nearly three decades of ethnic war that led to liberation of the country from the clutches of "separatist terror".

Sri Lanka on Monday sacked 12 senior military officers for being a "threat to national security" and hatching "political conspiracy" during the just-concluded Presidential Polls.

Riding high on his battlefield victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels and his landslide re-election, Sri Lanka's president appears under little pressure to tackle the deep ethnic tensions that fueled a generation of conflict here.

US has said it is in touch with the defeated Sri Lankan Opposition Presidential candidate over the issue of his security, which was withdrawn on Thursday and has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to move towards a political reconciliation.

Sri Lankan Government on Thursday hit back at defeated opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka, alleging he had attempted to "assassinate" President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.

As the opposition Presidential candidate former General Sarath Fonseka feared for his safety in the aftermath of his defeat, the authorities in Colombo have withdrawn the army security cover given to him.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, a populist leader who trounced his former ally-turned-foe Sarath Fonseka in the Sri Lankan presidential elections, is proving to be a man with a midas touch and has enjoyed good rapport with India in his first four years in office.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said they would seek the court to disqualify him from the Presidential race.