A rising wave of public anxiety grows as activists accuse the government of secretly binding Sri Lanka to foreign military powers without citizen consent.
The National Executive Member of the People’s Struggle Movement, Wasantha Mudalige, expressed serious concerns in Nugegoda regarding what he described as a dangerous and secretive military security agreement signed between Sri Lanka and America.
According to Mudalige, “It has been a year since this government came to power. During this time, the government has signed agreements with various countries. But the problem is that it does not tell the public anything about those agreements.” He reminded the public that seven agreements were signed with India on April 8, yet “those agreements are still a mystery.” He added that a similar security agreement was recently signed with Japan, also hidden from the public.
Mudalige stated that while none of these deals have been publicly disclosed, the government “performed another trick yesterday” by signing a military security understanding agreement with America. On the Sri Lankan side, Defense Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and several officials were involved. On the American side, Mudalige pointed out that officials including Julie Chang took part in the signing.
He questioned why the public remains uninformed about agreements directly affecting national security. He stressed that the country’s maritime security, the exchange of military goods and geopolitical interventions are all tied to these deals. Mudalige also recalled how the current ruling party, when in opposition, demanded that previous governments reveal similar agreements. “The government that came to power is now making agreements with America, India and Japan whenever it wants. We say this is not democracy.”
He warned that America has clear geopolitical objectives in the region and questioned, “Is the government preparing to make India a pawn in those geopolitical objectives? The people of this country did not give the government the authority to do such a thing.”
Mudalige highlighted another major concern. He explained that the government entered into war related agreements with America, India and Japan, all three belonging to the Quad alliance. He said the Quad is often described as the NATO of Asia. While acknowledging that governments may hold their own diplomatic opinions, he insisted they have “no right to drag the country’s security into two parts.”
He called on the government to immediately clarify the path it is taking. He further urged leaders to cancel what he called “treacherous agreements signed with India, America and Japan without the consent of the people.” He concluded with a warning: “We must also remind you at this time that if this does not happen, we will not hesitate to organize the people to defeat this anti-people program in the future.”
