The Sri Lankan foreign Ministry said that it will not pursue the matter of Norway and the United States allegedly supporting the campaign of former Opposition Common candidate General Sarath Fonseka, as claimed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, beyond the rejections by the respective embassies.<br/><br/> Earlier , US and Norway strongly denied claims raised by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that both countries had funded the election campaign of former Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka, who is now in the military custody on charges of treason.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama briefed the Diplomatic community on Thursday on the government’s decision to arrest General Fonseka. ‘The Government had very strong reasons to apprehend that Gen. Fonseka had acted in a manner prejudicial to the responsibilities of the senior posts he held during his service as a military officer,’ Rohitha Bogollagama told Diplomats in Colombo.<br/><br/> AIR correspondent Kanchan Prasad reports from Colombo that even as the Sri Lanka Supreme Court posted the Fundamental Rights petition of the detained former Army Chief and defeated common consensus Presidential nominee, retired General Sarath Fonseka for further hearing on February 23, the Foreign Ministry here said that it will not pursue the matter of Norway and the United States allegedly supporting his election campaign beyond the rejections by the respective embassies.<br/><br/> The charges were leveled by the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the course of an interview with the Singapore based Straits Times. The missions of US and Norway here have strongly denied the allegations. In the petition lawyers of Fonseka have challenged his arrest and prayed for his immediate release.<br/><br/> Meanwhile, at a briefing to the diplomatic core based here the Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama explained the circumstances that prompted the military to detain the retired General on Monday night. ‘The Government had very strong reasons to apprehend that Gen. Fonseka had acted in a manner prejudicial to the responsibilities of the senior posts he held during his service as a military officer,’ the Minister told the diplomats.<br/>