News
Sajith pledges to renegotiate agreement with IMF
…Arjuna joins SJB Thalawakele rally
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) would renegotiate the agreement with the IMF to make it more people friendly, SJB and Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa said yesterday (01) addressing their main May Day event at Chatham Street, Colombo Fort.
Premadasa said: “We will also establish presidential task forces to look into the wellbeing of children, women, and infants. A special programme will be implemented to uplift female-led households. We will take care of the 1.7 million differently abled people. We will establish independent anti-corruption entities that are created by entrenched clauses of the Constitution.”
Premadasa said people asked him why he had not accepted the post of Prime Minister offered to him by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
“Some people tell me I should have taken a shortcut to power. I could have become the PM before the constitutional coup in 2018,” he said.
The Opposition leader said that an SJB government would boost spending on education and healthcare. The SJB government would also establish centres of IT akin to the Silicon Valley in the US, in all 25 districts in the country.
“We will establish a million start-ups. All government institutions will be made profitable. We will also establish private-public partnerships. Right now, those who run the government are engaged in a money grab.”
Premadasa said that they have come up with a proposal to get to the bottom of the Easter Sunday attacks. This has been presented to the Catholic Church, he said adding that
“We will bring to justice everyone behind the attacks”.
The SJB leader said that tea small holders own 40 percent of total tea cultivated areas. But they produce 70 percent of the tea output.
“The large-scale plantations only produce 30 percent. We will promote tea small holders by providing underutilized lands owned by these big plantation companies.”
Premadasa said that there is a need to create a national wealth fund.
SJB MP Harsha de Silva said 34 percent of the urban youth are unemployed and that only about 34 percent of the women are in the workforce. An SJB government would address the concerns of these people, he said.
“In the first five years of Sajith Premadasa’s tenure, he will create 1.5 million jobs and opportunities to be entrepreneurs. We have missed the opportunity to be in the global supply chain. The components of the iPhone are made in over 40 countries, but Sri Lanka is not among those countries. Sri Lanka is one of the most closed economies in the world,” he said.
Dr. de Silva said within a few months of becoming President, Sajith Premadasa will invite global brands to the country. The SJB will also take steps to revive the 250,000 micro, small and medium enterprises that have closed down.
Former MP, Mujibur Rahuman said that they chose the location because of significant events that transpired in the area during the 2022 Aragalaya.
“Two people from our party joined Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2022. One of them recently said a bunch of SJB MPs will crossover today. That has not happened,” he said.
Meanwhile, former MP Hirunika Premachandra alleged that the venue they wanted to hold the May Day rally has been given to the National People’s Power (NPP). This is an indication that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has a soft spot for NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, she said.
“We also see that the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) have joined hands. Ranil always had close ties with the Rajapaksas and he destroyed the UNP to ensure that the Rajapaksas could stay in power without a challenge.
Earlier in the day, they held another rally at Nuwara Eliya, which was organised by the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA). Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Arjuna Ranatunga, former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain and former Minister, were present at the rally.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday demanded an immediate termination of what it called a “secretive and dangerous” defence agreement signed between Sri Lanka and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 05 April visit.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda described the agreement as a “betrayal of the nation” and a “crime against the people,” urging the government to invoke Article 12 of the deal and exit it with the required three months’ notice.
Jagoda said the document, which surfaced on social media after being published by a news portal, appears to be the actual agreement signed between the two countries. “The government has not denied its authenticity. That silence is telling,” he said.
Jagoda added that the agreement bears the signatures of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
“What’s most troubling,” Jagoda warned, “is that both governments attempted to keep the agreement under wraps. Unlike the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which was made public with all annexures, this agreement was hidden from the people, and even now, we don’t know how many other agreements exist between India and Sri Lanka.”
Jagoda said that a Right to Information request made on 04 April was met with a reply from the President’s Office stating that it had no copies of the agreement—raising serious concerns about transparency, even at the highest level. “One could question whether the President has seen it because his office does not have it,” Jagoda said.
The 12-clause of agreement reportedly covers areas such as exchange and training of military personnel, defence industry collaboration, classified information protection, and military medical services, including battlefield healthcare and telemedicine.
Jagoda said the definition of “classified information” in Clause 7 was alarmingly broad. “It allows India to label virtually anything as secret. Even weapons or military assets transferred under this agreement cannot be revealed—not even after the agreement ends,” he said, citing Clause 7.3.
Clause 10 prohibits either country from taking disputes to international courts or involving third-party mediators. “It’s like asking a rabbit to negotiate with a tiger,” Jagoda quipped, drawing parallels to the complications of the 1987 accord, which eventually saw Indian peacekeeping troops refusing to leave until a change in the Indian government.
Jagoda accused the NPP-led government of hypocrisy, pointing out that the JVP, the main component of the current regime, had vehemently opposed Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. “Now they’ve gone and signed an even more dangerous deal,” he said.
Citing Clause 12, which allows either party to withdraw with three months’ notice, the FSP called on the government to act immediately to exit the pact. “We urge the people to unite and defeat these underhanded, sovereignty-eroding deals. The FSP stands ready to lead that fight,” Jagoda said.
The police yesterday arrested a group of students, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Madushan Chandradith, during a protest held by the Allied Health Science Graduates’ Union in front of the Health Ministry yesterday.
The police obtained an order from Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, earlier in the day, to prevent protesters from invading the Colombo Hospital Square and the Health Ministry.
Inspector General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon is set to face formal questioning on Monday (19 May) over serious allegations of misconduct and abuse of power, parliamentary sources said yesterday.
A special Committee appointed to investigate the claims will commence formal proceedings next week, following several rounds of preliminary discussions held within the parliamentary complex in recent weeks.
The IGP has been officially notified to appear before the Committee and is expected to face the inquiry for the first time at 2:00 PM in Committee Room No. 8.
The Committee, which met again on Thursday (15) to finalise arrangements, is investigating allegations that Tennakoon misused his official powers in a manner deemed severe and improper.
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