News

FSP picks holes in Trinco Tank Farm deal

Published

4 years ago

2022/01/8

By Rathindra Kuruwita

An agreements signed on Thursday night to develop the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm as a joint venture between Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Lanka IOC was illegal and Sri Lankans should not accept them, Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), Pubudu Jayagoda said yesterday.

Jayagoda said that usually such agreements had three parts, – lease agreement, a modalities agreement and an agreement on the joint venture company, i.e. Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd. However, only the modalities agreement had been presented to the Cabinet in late December and it was that agreement the Cabinet approved on 03 January 2022, he said

“Did the government sign the lease agreement too? From what we hear, a lease agreement was signed on Thursday night. However, the Governor of the Eastern Province needs to sign the agreement for this lease agreement to be valid and legitimate. Since the Governor had not signed the agreement, the lease agreement is not legitimate and the entire agreement is null and void without a lease agreement. So we would like to tell Sri Lankans that there is no reason for us to accept or respect this agreement,” he said.

On Thursday night the lease agreement was signed and the signatories were Treasury Secretary, Land Commissioner General, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), LIOC and Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd., the Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said in a Tweet.

The Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party said that the government had started to sign important agreements in the middle of the night. Earlier an agreement was signed, in the middle of the night, with US based, New Fortress Energy to transfer 40% of Yugadanavi shares and to handover the monopoly over the supply of LNG, he said.

“These strategically important agreements that have significant impact on our lives are not even presented to the Cabinet, let alone the people. These agreements are against our constitution and the law,” he said.

Jayagoda said given that the people had no access to the full agreement, they had to depend on the statements made by Minister Gammanpila. However, most of the statements the Minister made were false, he said.

“The Minister claims that agreements in 1987, 2003 and 2017 had already granted India the access to the old tanks in Trincomalee. These claims are contradictory. If the 1987 agreement had given the tanks to India, why sign another one in 2003 or 2017. Despite the Minister’s claims, there was no formal agreement to hand over 14 tanks to India in 2003, he said. A MoU was signed, but a formal agreement was never executed. The 2017 agreement between India’s Sushma Swaraj and then Minister Malik Samarawickrama too was only a MoU. So, IOC was holding these tanks illegally. However, when this agreement is signed it will formally have these tanks. The Minister also claims that the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord earmarked these tanks for Indian use. However, the agreement only states that if we develop these tanks with a foreign partner that partner will have to be India. So Gammanpila is bending facts,” he said.

Jayagoda pointed out that it was now widely acknowledged that Sri Lanka didn’t sign the Indo-Lanka agreement voluntarily. India twisted the arm of then President J.R. Jayewardene to make him agree. The agreement did not even have clauses on what steps to take if one party violated the agreement, he said.

“The agreement had been violated so many times and it is a joke to say that we are adhering to a non-existent clause of this agreement. There really is no reason why we should accept the accord at all,” he said.

The current agreement signed on Thursday allows LIOC to make changes to the structures in the tank farm, Jayagoda said. The 2003 agreement only allowed IOC the use of the tanks.

“This is why this is a more dangerous agreement than anything signed in 1987, 2003 or 2017. Moreover, the agreement states that Sri Lanka can’t enter into agreements with other companies to operate in the tank farm for another decade. The worst part is that under the 2003, any issue that arises between the two parties could be solved by Sri Lankan law but the 2022 agreement says that we have to go before arbitration courts in Singapore to settle any dispute. Our previous performances before arbitration courts have been less than stellar,” he said.

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Govt. extends ban on LTTE

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

The NPP government has issued a new extraordinary gazette renewing and extending Sri Lanka’s long-standing ban on the LTTE and several Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals, continuing to designate them as “terrorists”.

The gazette, published recently, replaces a previous gazette issued in May 2025 and reaffirmed the proscription of a wide range of Tamil political and advocacy bodies operating around the world, alongside dozens of named individuals. The government alleged both the organisations and individuals listed are involved in “terrorism-related activities”.

The organisations blacklisted by the Sri Lankan government include:

• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

• Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)

• Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)

• World Tamil Movement (WTM)

• Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)

• World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)

• National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT)

• Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO)

While the majority of the designations mirror those contained in the May 2025 gazette, the latest document updates identification details and addresses for a number of individuals and introduces at least one additional organisation to the list. All entries have been reissued under new reference numbers for 2026, though the underlying allegations and framing remain unchanged.

Successive governemnts have maintained a sweeping proscription regime against Tamil diaspora groups and individuals. A ban can make it a criminal offence for Sri Lankan citizens to maintain contact with these organisations or their members, severely restricting political engagement and stifling links between the diaspora and the Tamil homeland.

The original mass listings were introduced in 2014 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Despite repeated outcry, subsequent governments have continued to uphold and renew the proscription regime, even after the Rajapaksas were voted out of power.

News

Police obtain court order banning Wimal’s protest

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa addresses a gathering outside the Education Ministry on Monday before launching a protest demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya as Education Minister over the inclusion of a link to an adult content website in the Grade 06 English module. (Pic by Thushara Atapattu)

Police yesterday (12) obtained an injunction order from the Kaduwela Magistrate’s court against the protest launched by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa opposite the Education Ministry, Isurupaya, at Battaramulla.

Police informed Weerawansa of the court order. In line with the court order, the police informed Weerawansa that the road near the Ministry should not be obstructed and that no sound amplification equipment be used while the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination is in progress. The examination, put off due to Cyclone Ditwah, recommenced yesterday.

News

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path to progres

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

FM Herath with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath held productive discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi today (12/01), during the latter’s brief visit to Sri Lanka.

The meeting aimed at further strengthening bilateral engagement and advancing the Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries. Both Ministers reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and time-tested cooperation between Sri Lanka and China rooted in centuries of exchanges and consolidated since the establishment of diplomatic relations seven decades ago. The discussion also focused on enhancing partnership in the areas of trade, investment, development cooperation and tourism.

Minister Herath extended deep appreciation to the Government and the people of China for the steadfast support extended to Sri Lanka following cyclone Ditwah and requested further support for the second phase of resettlement, relocation and rebuilding, particularly for the restoration of affected infrastructure including identified roads, railways and bridges that are vital to connectivity, economic recovery and daily lives of people. Minister Wang assured China’s fullest support for this initiative and expressed confidence that Sri Lanka will continue its rapid recovery under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Disanayaka. He also welcomed the people-centric policies of the Government and expressed optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path toward fulfilling aspirations of its people.

Minister Herath expressed appreciation for China’s constructive role in international fora and reiterated Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the One China Policy and China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Both Ministers also recalled the successful high level exchanges in the recent past, including visits of the President and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to China in 2025.