As a war veteran and a soldier myself, Prabhakaran has my respect because although a terrorist, he fought as a leader until the last bullet, Fonseka had said.
Fonseka was speaking yesterday (23) during the 'Senpathi Awarjana' interview segment broadcast on Sirasa TV, where he recapped his memories of May 19, 2009, when the remains of Prabhakaran were found.
On that morning, following the address of the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa in parliament, I was preparing to go to the Army headquarters around 11.00am. It was then that i got a call from the battlefield informing me that Prabhakaran's body was found, Fonseka stated.
He said that the call was made by the present Defence Secretary - Maj. Gen. (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne.
He also revealed that although the Army was able to fully occupy the entire land area the day before, sporadic clashes in bush areas had continued until the news of Prabhakaran's death.
The battle that began on May 17 ended around 10.00am on May 19, he said.
The interview in full is as follows :
