FSP calls proposed defence pact with India betrayal

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) says that if JVP’s pioneer leader Rohana Wijeweera had been alive today, he, too, would have joined the FSP in opposing the proposed defence agreement between Sri Lanka and India, calling it a serious betrayal of the nation’s interests.

Duminda Nagamuwa, Propaganda Secretary of the FSP, told the media that the JVP-led NPP government was reportedly planning to sign the agreement.Speaking to the media, Nagamuwa said there was lack of transparency surrounding the proposed accord, which had already drawn the attention of Indian experts.

“These experts have termed the agreement as the most significant between the two countries since the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, Nagamuwa said.

“Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa recently revealed that a number of agreements involving defence, energy, health, and digitalisation are set to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Wijitha Herath had previously stated that agreements would be signed covering six key areas, but details of these agreements have not been disclosed to the public,” Nagamuwa said.

“We call upon the people of this country to realise the dangers lurking in these agreements. If the government keeps the people in the dark about their contents, they will be illegitimate.”

He said those agreements had not been presented to Parliament for approval. That marked a troubling continuation of a trend where previous agreements have been signed without proper public discourse or parliamentary scrutiny, he said.

Nagamuwa said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the proposed accord had been signed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2023, and that the JVP/NPP was now proposing the same deal. “If Ranil Wickremesinghe had tried to sign this accord, the people would have taken to the streets in protest. But now, this government is pushing the same agreement forward,” he said.

Nagamuwa appealed to the public to closely observe the processes leading up to the signing of the accord. “We believe that this agreement will have serious implications for the country’s national security. If Comrade Wijeweera were alive today, he too would stand with us in opposing this government’s betrayal of our national interests,” he said.