Among the agreements signed by the National People’s Power government on April 5, the Frontline Socialist Party urges the government to immediately withdraw from such an agreement if it refuses to accept responsibility, in a situation where a number of serious issues regarding the Indo-Lanka security agreement have now been revealed through the media, says Pubudu Jayagoda, Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party.

Pubudu Jayagoda said that a defense agreement signed between India and Sri Lanka has been published on a website called Economy Next, and that the government has not denied this agreement as a false or fraudulent document, so we can assume that this is the major security agreement signed with India during Modi’s recent visit to Sri Lanka on April 5.

He said this at a media conference held at the Nugegoda Frontline Socialist Party headquarters on (16) morning.

He also said:

As can be seen in this copy, this agreement was signed by Defense Secretary Sampath Thuyyakontha and Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha. Both countries tried to keep this defense agreement secret without disclosing. When the 1987 Indo-Lanka Agreement was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and J. R. Jayewardene, we saw the main agreement and its annexes. Later, the documents exchanged between the two countries were also made public. But no one knows how many agreements the National People’s Power government signed with India and what the contents of those agreements were. When I requested copies under the Right to Information Act on April 4, I received a letter saying that the copies were not available in the Presidential Secretariat. This means that the President also has not seen these agreements.

There are a number of key issues in this agreement that we finally got via the internet. There are twelve clauses in this MoU. Among those clauses are the exchange of security personnel, training of security personnel, exchanges other than training, cooperation in the defense industry, technology and research, the financial sector, and the protection of classified information. In a way, this is like getting married under the condition that a divorce case cannot be filed in court. The tenth clause of this agreement states that if a dispute arises regarding the agreement, it cannot be taken to the International Court of Justice or any other court or arbitration board. It also states that no third party can be involved as an intermediary. Only the two countries have agreed to resolve the issue through discussions. There is a large gap between India and Sri Lanka like a rabbit and a tiger. How can we resolve the issues through talks in such a situation? This is a very serious situation.

After the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) came to Sri Lanka. Prime Minister R. Premadasa, who later became the President of Sri Lanka, sent letters to the Indian government asking for the Indian Peace Keeping Force to leave. The Indian government said that the troops could not be recalled. They were refusing to leave. Finally, the Indian troops left Sri Lanka after the change of government in India when the V. P. Singh government came to power. After the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main party that brought the people to the streets against the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987, came to power, signing an even more risky agreement is a betrayal and a crime.

Also, in Article 7 of this agreement, there is a category called classified, or classified data. That data is defined in such a way that anything that is designated as classified information falls under it. That means that India can designate anything that is very important to its national security as secret information. Why was this definition so broad? India cannot disclose that classified information in any way that it wants to at any time. Also, this secret information includes not only the information itself but also the materials. 

There is a word ‘material’ in this agreement that is not defined. That means that we are bound by this clause to transmit, store and keep secret information about even physical things like weapons of war and fighter jets. Information related to that transmission and storage cannot be given to any third party. Clause 7.3 of this agreement states that they cannot be disclosed even after the agreement is terminated. According to this agreement, specifically clause 3.2.2 of this, we have agreed to provide military medical facilities to treat those injured in war. That means this is also a service provision agreement like ETCA.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which opposed the ETCA agreement when the Rajapaksa government signed in 2009, has now signed a dangerous military service agreement after taking power. Article 12 states that this agreement is valid for five years. However, it also states that it can be withdrawn by giving three months’ notice. We propose that the government immediately withdraw from this agreement by giving three months’ notice as stated in this agreement. We request the people to build a broad people’s power to defeat this treacherous and fraudulent agreement that is entangling the people of Sri Lanka in a geopolitical trap and endangering the lives and national security of the people of Sri Lanka. As the Frontline Socialist Party, we are ready to play a leading role in this.