( Sri LAnka Brief/ 14 October 2025) Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, the wartime commander of the army, confirmed during a press conference (12 October) that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then Secretary of Defense, had telephoned General Shavendra Silva and instructed him to shoot those carrying white flags. This phone call was reportedly made on 17 May 2009.
On that same day, a meeting was held involving Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, the head of the Sri Lankan Red Cross, and Amnesty International, during which several LTTE leaders were informed that they could surrender by carrying white flags.
Gota’s order ..
However, Sarath Fonseka stated that Gotabaya’s alleged order to assassinate did not reach the battlefield and that the army operated under his command. He further explained that the war began before dawn on 18 May, and in such a situation, anyone approaching—regardless of what they carried—would have been killed.
A witness to the incident claimed that he arrived at the location that morning and observed that the LTTE leaders and others carrying white flags appeared to have been shot from both the front and the back. He also noted that LTTE members who had taken up arms were found dead.
During a YouTube discussion (on 14 October) with journalist Tharindu Jayawardena, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka elaborated:
The discussion on 17th
(Start Quote )“Regarding the white flag story—I returned from China on the night of the 17th around 9 pm. While I was away, on the morning of the 17th, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, the ICRC, the head of Amnesty International Sri Lanka, and Eric Solheim had discussions. They had discussed that the LTTE leaders could surrender with white flags. But they didn’t inform me. Gotabaya didn’t say a word to me, even after I returned that night.
Gota’s call
During that conversation, Gotabaya called Shavendra Silva. After the call, Shavendra told junior officers, ‘The Defense Secretary says the group wants to surrender with white flags. He says to kill everyone.’ Journalists were present with cameras, and that’s how the story reached the media. I have that video. I will release it soon.
But even though Shavendra said it, the white flag order didn’t reach the battlefield . The war started at 2:30 a.m. In darkness. At that time, the terrorists were trapped in small areas. There was no situation where they could bring white flags.
The terrorists started shooting first. Then our infantry, commandos, and Special Forces responded. At that point, regardless of what they carried—even if it was a white flag—they wouldn’t have been spared. The battlefield operated under my orders, and that message hadn’t reached them. That’s where the story ends.”
During the 2010 presidential election, journalist Frederica Jansz asked me, whether there was order to the kill those carrying white flags. I responded similarly, stating that two journalists had asked him about it. However, Frederica later published a headline in The Sunday Leader stating, “ Gota ordered to shoot those who brought white flags.”
After the 2010 presidential election, the defeated the joint opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka was arrested and charged with multiple offenses, based in part on a letter written by Frederica Jansz. In 2011, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for his alleged statements regarding the White Flag incident. Frederica Jansz gave evidence against Fonseka.
Who had the Video?
Fonseka did not release the video he claimed to possess during the trial. It was reported that Ramawickrama, a journalist who had covered the war for state television SLRC, was in possession of the video. Only state controlled television SLRC was allowed to the battle field. Unofficial reports at the time suggested that he later obtained political asylum in the United States using the video and had provided the video to the relevant legal authorities there.