Dr Sudath Gunasekara, Mahanuwara,

Summon the Parliament Immediately to have an emergency debate as to how all these agreements have singed without prior Cabinet approval?  I am asking this question, as a citizen of this country on behalf of the whole country, as neither the Leader of the Opposition nor any other MP including even Ranil or any other MP, the so-called representatives of the people, dares to raise this issue.

I also ask the question as to why the officers, who are veterans of the procedures on international Agreements didn’t refuse to sing them without proper Cabinet approval and I also query as to what the hundreds of highly paid so-called Advisors to the Government led by the Chief Advisor to the President were doing when this treasonable drama was in action in broad day light if they were not singed at midnight like the LNG Agreement?

I warned in advance in detail on this danger in my article captioned

Shame!  Shame! For the Greatness of India! when Sri Lanka in dire distress, asked for a distress loan, for emergency supplies of food, fuel and medicines, instead of helping its neighbor, opportunist India is trying to fish in troubled Sri Lankan waters” that was published in Lankaweb and Ceylon Diary of 13^th March and highlighted the danger of India’s tough conditions laid down for this US$ 1 billion loan bait.

” But as usual not only the President and the Government nor an opposition MP and not even a single responsible citizen of this country had paid any attention to my forewarning. They all were playing the fiddle, without taking any notice of the danger I was trying to prevent to save mother Lanka, like Nero who was doing the same thing. when Rome was in fire. Again, the next day, a day before Basil the American Finance Minister of Sri Lanka left for India, it was reported in papers that all conditions laid down in the Indian press release were met by singing all the agreements before Basil took off to New Delhi. I was surprised as to how all these treasonable agreements, with India were singed, at least without Cabinet approval, leaving aside the approval of the Parliament, where the sovereignty of the people is supposed to be vested, which I think should be made mandatory, for all international agreements,   

Now that Sunil Handunhetti has exposed this treachery in the following news item, I wonder whether the President will take action immediately as to how the Minister of Finance, a citizen of America, did this treasonable act on behalf of the Motherland, without Cabinet approval.

Five defence agreements signed with India: Handunnetti

Posted on March 25th, 2022

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

(The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today revealed that the government had entered into five defence agreements with India in line with the recently obtained US$1 billion credit facility, despite claims that no condition had been laid down in the credit line.

Former JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti told a news conference that these agreements had been signed violating the due procedure prior to Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to India.

Basil on his return from India said there were no conditions pertaining to the US$1 billion credit line obtained from India. But, just before his visit, several agreements had been signed. These agreements had been signed with a covering approval as they had to be signed before Basil’s Indian visit. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government should reveal their stance on Basil Rajapaksa’s statement and signing of these agreements,” he said.

He said signing of these defence agreements is a clear threat to the nation’s security and added that this was betraying of sea, ground and aerospace pertaining to the national security.

He said agreements pertaining to Indian funded Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), grant of three Dornier Maritime Surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka and a 4,000 MT floating barge have been signed.

Mr. Handunnetti questioned as to why these security equipment were needed in a hurry when people were suffering in queues for essential goods.

There was no need of these security equipment at all even during the war,” he said.

He also revealed that Cabinet approval has been sought to make an emergency purchase of diesel from a South African Company for up to five years on unsolicited basis. (Ajith Siriwardana0”)

End of news item.

 Who empowered Basil to direct the officers concerned to sign these agreements? Will the President withhold the operation of these Agreements Sampur, Delf Island, Mannar and the rest) until a full inquiry is done? as to why and how the said illegal and treasonable agreements were signed? This is nothing but a blatant repetition of what he did on the LNG agreement singed at midnight without Cabinet approval.  How long the nation is going to tolerate this naked treachery by one man. I want be surprised even if the papers report next time that Basil has signed an agreement with USA at midnight declaring Sri Lanka as suzerainty of USA with immediate effect.

My million Dollar question is, if one man can do all these miracles, then why we have a President and a Cabinet, government and a Parliament elected by the people.