Never supported Fonseka during polls: US

The US on dismissed Sri Lanka's charge that it had provided financial support to Sarath Fonseka during the January 26 presidential polls and asked Colombo to ensure safety of those who had supported the defeated opposition presidential candidate.

"There is no truth to the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary's claims that the US provided financial support to the opposition candidate in Sri Lanka's presidential election," a US Embassy statement said.

Earlier, in an interview to the Strait Times, powerful Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, brother of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, accused several Western nations, including the US, of conspiring with Fonseka.

"We are 100 per cent convinced that Western countries with vested interests were backing him (Fonseka). Even the US, and countries like Norway, spent lots of money on his campaign," the newspaper had quoted Gotabhaya as saying.

"As noted in previous Embassy statements, the US backed no candidate but strongly supported a free, fair, and credible democratic process," the statement said.

"In that spirit, we now urge the Sri Lankan Government to protect the rights of those who supported the opposition or other candidates in the election and to ensure the safety and security of representatives of the press. The free expression of opinion and peaceful participation in the political process are fundamental democratic rights, which all citizens of Sri Lanka should enjoy," it said.