8 Feb 2010, 0538 hrs IST

Srilanka News: COLOMBO: Sought to be mired in coup conspiracies, Sri Lankan's embattled former army chief Sarath Fonseka has hit back likening the "political battle" he is facing to military campaign he ran against Tamil Tigers.

"The war against LTTE was not won easily. Similarly, the political battle will also not be easy," Fonseka said of his current travails, as the government has threatened to make him face Court Martial on conspiracy charges.

"But as with the war against terrorism, this too is a battle that will see us emerging victorious," he said in a thanksgiving statement on the January 26 Presidential elections carried by the Daily Mirror as a full page advertisement.

He termed as "ridiculous" allegations that have been levelled against him and thanked all those who had worked for his Presidential election campaign.

"We are accused of plotting a coup; our movements are being restricted; my staff members arrested; the hotel we were staying in was surrounded; even now I am unable to move freely," he said in the statement.

"...These are not the actions expected from those who are confident in its victory, but of a group that is now facing the perils of its own duplicity.

"These actions will not deter us. In fact the more they harass, hound and bully us the greater will be our determination to fight for justice for democracy and change," Fonseka said.