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Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Thursday, 4 February 2021 02:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Asiri Fernando
Key Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition party leaders yesterday defended their stance regarding the East Container Terminal (ECT), insisting it was an effort to protect the mandate that swept the Government into power earlier this year.
National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader and Industries Minister Wimal Weerawansa told reporters at a press conference, the Cabinet decision to retain control of the ECT, effectively pulling out of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Japan, was done to protect the two-thirds mandate that was given to the Government.
He was joined by 10 top SLPP members in a show of unity following the controversial decision on Monday.
Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Ceylon Workers Congress, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), National Freedom Front, and Our Power of People Party (OPPP) were among those present at the press conference.
“The ECT issue was fast becoming a defining moment of our Government. This Government inherited this controversial issue due to the actions of the previous government. However, the President and Prime Minister rightfully took the correct decision that the ECT should remain under the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA). The ECT will not only be a key revenue earner for Sri Lanka but is also an important part of national security,” Weerawansa argued.
Weerawansa stated acknowledged the decision was a difficult one, pointing to reactions from the Indian High Commission in Colombo regarding the matter. “We can see from the Indian High Commission’s response that they are not willing to accept this decision.
“However, as difficult as it was, the decision was taken with Sri Lankan interest at heart, mindful of the public mandate and with an aim to secure a better future for the country,” Weerawansa added. He also thanked the President and Prime Minister for taking what he described as a “difficult and challenging” decision.
Commenting on the geo-political trends at play in the Indian Ocean, Weerawansa claimed that the ongoing contest between the US, India, Japan and China, was one reason that Sri Lanka needs to self-develop strategic infrastructure.
“We should not become a pawn in their game. I believe that the Government has taken the right decision. As partners of this Government, we need not be anyone’s slaves. Each partnering party of the Government should prioritise key issues upholding the trust 6.9 million voters placed on us,” he stressed.
Voicing support for the ECT Cabinet decision, SLFP Secretary General Dayasiri Jayasekara blamed the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and key members of his Government for preventing a competitive bidding process for the tender on developing ECT, which was issued in 2015. MP Jayasekara alleged that Wickremesinghe and a few members of his Government discouraged private investors who answered the tender and later pushed the ECT development as a tripartite project with India and Japan.
“This was a difficult decision due to the geo-politics involved. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had completed 400 m of the ECT, the tenders were called to bring the cranes. Then in 2015 Ranil Wickremesinghe intervened.
“He has no right to comment about geo-politics because, when the tenders were called in 2015 to develop the ECT, seven international companies came forward to bid for it including Mitsubishi from Japan, Maersk, and TATA from India. Companies from the US and South Africa were also there.
“However, the then Government kept changing the terms of the tenders and discouraged them. They also kept local partners out of the process and changed the tender requirements three times,” Jayasekara charged, arguing that the previous Government pushed Sri Lanka into an easily avoided geo-political power struggle.
“We are happy that our stance on this matter became the stance of the Government. We need to use national assets for the benefit of our country. This is stated in our election manifesto. We have an accepted policy of utilising assets while maintaining public ownership of them. We are mindful of the public mandate that has been given to us. Preventing a departure from that policy was our responsibility,” SLPP Parliamentarian Vasudeva Nanayakkara said.
MP Nanayakkara criticised comments by the US Ambassador regarding the ECT controversy. “The fact that the US poked its nose where it needed makes us suspicious of the tripartite ECT agreement. Was it connected to the US imperialist geo-political agenda? Which is more the reason Sri Lanka should maintain control of the ECT and be mindful of its national security implications too.”
OPPP Leader Athuraliye Rathana Thero called on the President and Prime Minister to form a national committee to chart Sri Lanka’s national policies to navigate the increasingly contentious geo-political environment and to create long term policies with broader political consensus aimed at improving policy longitude. Rathana Thero opined that the Opposition leader should be part of such a committee and that Opposition views should also be taken on board.
