News
Opp. MPs ask for probe into US role in Aragalaya after Speaker’s disclosure on external interventions
Speaker says conspirators threatened to harm him
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Chairman of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security, retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, MP, yesterday (22) said that the government should conduct a thorough investigation into the overthrowing of elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s confirmation of US Ambassador Julie Chung’s direct intervention in what he called regime change project.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa relinquished office in the second week of July, 2022.
The former Navy Chief of Staff appreciated the Speaker’s decision to disclose the truth after the three-day debate and vote on the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against him on Thursday March 21.
The Colombo district lawmaker said that he expected the government to address the issues that had been raised by the Speaker, without delay and, particularly, ascertain the external hand in the ‘operation.’ President Rajapaksa gave up office following an intense protest campaign, launched on March 31, 2022, culminated with the overrunning of the President’s House on July 09, 2022.
Declaring that among those who sought to establish a new government in violation of the Constitution were powerful elements, Speaker Abeywardena said that he received invitations from foreign parties though he rejected them outright.
Referring to National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa’s declaration, in late April 2023, that US Ambassador had met Speaker Abeywardena at the latter’s official residence, on July 09, 2022, to ask him to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Public Security Minister Weerasekera said that the Speaker never contradicted the MP’s claim.
“The Speaker could have done so in Parliament, or outside, but he maintained silence. In fact, the Speaker remained silent even after MP Chandima Weerakkody raised a privilege issue in Nov, 2023 over him (Weerasekera) alleging US involvement in the project. At the end, the Speaker had to confirm the accusations made by me and Weerawansa,” the former minister said.
MP Weerasekera said that he voted against the NCM as he felt that the Speaker hadn’t violated the Constitution and parliamentary procedures in respect of the appointment of the IGP and the enactment of the Online Safety law. He was among 117 MP s who voted against whereas 75 voted for. Weerawansa, too, ironically, voted for the NCM.
MP Weerasekera said that the outcome of the vote on NCM is relevant to the issue at hand. “What we really like to know is whether US Ambassador Chung arrived at the Speaker’s official residence, on the afternoon of July 09, 2022, to pressure him to take over the presidency,” MP Weerasekera said.
The retired Navy Chief of Staff said that the Speaker obviously had no qualms in declaring that the conspirators intended to destabilize the country the way they did to Libya and Afghanistan.
The former minister said that the Speaker’s disclosure that a threat was made to surround his official residence and harm him in the wake of his refusal to adhere to the conspirators’ proposal couldn’t be ignored as it established a direct link between the mobs and their leadership.
MP Weerasekera said that the government owed an explanation to the public. Responding to another query, lawmaker Weerasekera said that the Speaker should name those who pressured him to violate the Constitution.
In addition to MP Weerawansa, award-winning author Sena Thoradeniya, discussed the US role in a Galle Face Protest: System Change or Anarchy? launched last year.
Galle District SLPP MP Weerakkody, now aligned with the main Opposition SJB, last November repeatedly urged Speaker Abeywardena to deal with MP Weerasekera firmly as the latter caused unnecessary and extremely sensitive issues by condemning US Ambassador Chung. Weerakkody also found fault with Weerasekera for writing to State Defence Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon regarding the US Ambassador’s intervention.
MP Weerawansa yesterday told The Island that finally the Speaker had confirmed the external factors and the direct role the US played in the project.
The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government couldn’t ignore the Speaker’s declaration. Calling for a no holds barred investigation into the regime change operation, MP Weerawansa said that actually the external intervention, now confirmed by the Speaker, couldn’t be left uninvestigated.
Both Weerasekera and Weerawansa said that the Foreign Ministry should inquire into the Speaker’s accusations.
MP Weerawansa launched ‘09: The Hidden Story’ in April 2023 and a few months later released an English translation that dealt with the US role in the protest campaign that led to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s removal.Within hours after the release of the book in April, 2023, Ambassador Chung denied the MP’s allegations.
The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.
Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23.
Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments.
The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.
Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.
The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.
The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.
There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.
A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.
The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.
But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.
Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.
Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.
“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.
Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.
“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.
British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.
The UK competition watchdog said last month that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March
(BBC)
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
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