Opposition presidential candidate General (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka said an affidavit prepared by him would be made public if anything untowards happened to him.

Addressing a media briefing at his residence on Saturday evening, he said his office had been searched for about five hours on Friday (January 29) afternoon by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), assisted by the Special Task Force (STF).

They had been looking for arms and ammunition, but they only found some retired army officers who were helping me in my campaign office and they had been taken into custody and my office was sealed, Fonseka added.

Fonseka lost the January 26 election to President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the large majority, but did not accept the final result announced by Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake.

Fonseka said:"All my security personnel and vehicles provided by the government have been taken away. Army officers who worked for me, even when I was Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) have either been removed or transferred. The Government has given me only three Policemen and an Inspector." He said he had been compelled to employ 15 unarmed private security personnel and some retired army personnel loyal to him.Even the Cinnamon Gardens Police had declined to entertain a complaint regarding the raid by the joint CID/STF units on Friday at his campaign office, he said.

He added that he would not run away from those problems, but face them courageously like a brave soldier.

"I am a Sri Lankan, and will not take temporary shelter in any other country. These are canards spread by the government," the former army chief said.

Fonseka asked how 30 people could assassinate President Rajapaksa and family, when he travelled around in bullet/bomb proof vehicles with a vast security contingent.

Fonseka said:"This is a false and baseless allegation against me, like the one they spread that I was organising a coup. The Rajapaksa Government is trying to demoralise me. They forget that I was the commander who defeated LTTE terrorists. The government is trying to get rid of me by making wild allegations and attempting to turn the people against me. They will never succeed as the people are with me and know how the elections were rigged."

He said that when S B Dissanayaka (who crossed over to the government ranks just before the Presidential election) met the Mahanayakes in Kandy after the polls, the Mahanayake of Malwatte Chapter, Venerable Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddharta Sumangala Thero, had told him that the government should not reduce his (Fonseka’s) security in any form, and ‘SB’ had assured the Malwatte Mahanayake that it would not be reduced.

But the government, as usual, had not listened even to the Mahanayakes, Fonseka alleged.

Meanwhile, Parliamentarian and Presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa said General Fonseka should not leave the country, but face allegations against him and need not fear for his life.

Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa said the government was considering action against General Fonseka for revealing sensitive information to the public.