The Prime Minister’s office in a letter to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has told there is ‘no SOFA between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of the USA’. This is contradictory to what the U.S. Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz said earlier last week when she called SOFA the VFA and acknowledged negotiations are underway ‘to facilitate cooperation’.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and U.S. Ambassador Teplitz
Writing to CCC Chairman Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya concerning his letter to the PM, asking for increased transparency with regard to agreements with the U.S.A. to which includes the SOFA and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the PM’s office informed them that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was ‘perturbed’ by the ignorance on the contents of SOFA and MCC.
Referring to the queries forwarded by the CCC on SOFA, Prime Minister says there is no SOFA between the U.S and Sri Lankan governments and adds no such proposal has been forwarded by the line Ministry – the Defense Ministry – on such a matter.
The Sunday Times in their political column however reported today that the line Minister- the Defense Ministry – is not being kept in the loop regarding developments on the SOFA and that it is only being done now after the President demanded for approvals to be run through him.
According to the ST column, until then the Foreign Ministry was exclusively handling the negotiations, although the discussions should have rightfully taken place with the Defense Ministry.
So the Prime Minister’s office is technically correct in saying SOFA has not been discussed by the Defense Ministry yet – either in an honest admission of the lack of information or a blatant attempt at misleading the audiences yet again.
The PM’s office may not be aware of the negotiations but the U.S. Ambassador told the public early last week that negotiations are on and gave the same old reassurance of how the agreement will not affect the sovereignty of Sri Lanka although all information currently points otherwise.
Meanwhile, at an event yesterday, President Sirisena pledged he would not sign any foreign agreement that brings harmful impacts – in a clear reference to SOFA. Last week the State Minister of Defense too told media that any defense agreement will be signed only upon consultation with the President and that no agreement will go through without his signature – a clear development and an improvement since last week, when Sirisena as the Defense Minister was completely left in the dark.
JD / July 8, 2019
USA had passed legislation to include every country around the Indian Ocean – includes Asia and even Mongolia and African countries, making them by default a NATO member. PAkisthan became a member that way six years ago, and in 2019 they went away from it and instead they borrowed $ SIX billion from IMF and agreed to listen to IMF.
Sri lanka has signed agreements, now they are asking to sign comprehensive agreements which make Sri lanka a THAHITI and all the western companies are bought out by western multinationals.
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Dilhara / July 8, 2019
The reason that Alina Teblitz who has been weaponizing Buddhism and Islam with her Sauid buddies, and visiting the Mahanayakas to sell SOFA, now calls SOFA, VFA is the report below that exposes the Special Operations Forces (SOF) as the new face of the US Nato war machine, globally. BBS is funded by USAID and was set up by U citizen Gota to turn Sinhala Buddhism into Burmese Buddhism and attack Muslims
https://www.mintpressnews.com/u-s-special-operations-the-new-face-of-americas-war-machine/256431/
Also Millennium Challenge Corp ( MCC) has been drafting US Bondscam Ranil’s economic policies including Vision 2025 and Regaining Sri Lanka back in 2003. US puppet Bondscam Ranil and his (neo)liberal butterfly mafia must be impeached immediately.
Also, let the USAID funded NGO saree ladies who only have LGBTQ sex on their small brains and came out to defend US neo liberal puppet Ranil take a long break and get lost in translation!
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Shamil / July 8, 2019
Bottom line is US puppet Bondscam Ranil must be impeached and so too Mangala the moron.
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jayt / July 9, 2019
According to American and European law, PM and some others can be arrested for worst treacheries ever happened in Sri lanka.
Jews have been threatening Sri lanka with help of Sri lanka prim minster and some other ministers more openly in the last 3-4 years.. it started with Jews sponsored revolution in the UN.
president Trump brought to power by Jews and said he is deferent, but I see Jews have been conspiring against Sri lanka by trying to hook deal for military accusation of sri lanka by supporting Tamil terrorists and some Muslim extremes group.
Jews are playing a trick om public in the US saying they are against Arabs or muslin which is not true. Muslim ban is completely bogus. On other hand, Jews in want to make European a minority be smuggling millions Arabs and others. In Syria Jews want to occupy Syria with US military. Trade and section and all are part of establish Jewish global government.
Controlling banks is one of many features of global government.
But Europe, they do not have as much power as in US and Canada, they have. However, they are working on Europe, especially Germany is economic centre in Europe.
Trade tariff is brought by Jews not to protect interest of US public, but to gain power for Jewish global government.
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JD / July 8, 2019
Sri lanka is an eternal member of IMF ans WB. so, if we go way from MCC (COMPACT), NATO (SOFA) or ACSA we would not lose much. I think, the govt signed ACSA simply because they were scared to LTTE getting Eastern European weapons.
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ramona therese fernando / July 8, 2019
I mean…..SOFA might be quite ok if Gota and Mahinda were around, and even Sirisena. But we can’t trust it with Ranil!
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nalmen / July 8, 2019
no one now believes a born liar
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M. Niyaz / July 8, 2019
(A small correction CT, the woman in the photo is not Teplitz. The nose shows it clearly).
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On the substantive issue, Ranil is a confirmed liar and his claims should not be trusted.
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His history in politics shows that he is pathologically committed to licking American (and other Western) boots, out of some indescribable hatred against our history and culture.
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Sri Lankan people need to let American jack boots operating from the fortress at Kollupitiya show that their plots will not work in this country.
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jayt / July 9, 2019
This is completely fault of dumb Sinhala Buddhist public who promoted families who are linked to foreigners to rule Sri lanka.. It is the dream of Western spies to appoint somebody as PM with link to Tamil or Christianity. But Western spies did not have to work hard on that because Sinhala Buddhists Modayas do their job through votes and help foreign spies to achieve their goals
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K.A. Sumanasekera / July 8, 2019
Dr Ranil was banging the Lectern the other day threatening to bring the Masses to the Streets, if these Spoilt Sports try to STOP Dr Ranil and his SOFA as well as his 120,000 Acres LEASE to the MCC.
How Cool is that ?..
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Has Dr Ranil moved the Masses like this in the Past?.
I know Dr Ranil managed to bring a few in Rathpusellawa.
But I wouldn’t call it a mass protest.
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This is different even from the tone of Dr Ranil’s Speech.
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Do the Elite , Anglicans and the Vellalas pour on to the Streets to help Dr Ranil?..
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Anyway , my elders tell me those 120.000 acres the MCC got will push out a lot of farmers on to the streets.
Sorry, Roads because there are not many Streets in that part of Lankawe except Kattankuddy…
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Native Vedda / July 9, 2019
KASmaalam K.A. Sumanasekera
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“Dr Ranil was banging the Lectern the other day threatening to bring the Masses to the Streets, if these Spoilt Sports try to STOP Dr Ranil and his SOFA as well as his 120,000 Acres LEASE to the MCC.
How Cool is that ?..”
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How cool was it when US citizen Gota signed the initial version of the SOFA in 2007?
Haven’t you heard of the metaphor of letting Camel’s Nose inside the tiny tent?
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Where were you in 2007?
Gota wanted US support to destroy/hurt Tamils hence you were keeping deafening silence.
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Wera / July 8, 2019
All this dumb talk is envy that they the Rajapakshes did not get a chance to approve it and take the money for them selves. If this had happened under the Rajapkshes then the gon-bass and his side kick Boorowanse and Gonmanpila would have been happy as Larry with their thumbs up their you know whats. Not one peep would they have made. The so called information regarding the sovereignity of the country does not originate from the true source but from the derrieres of idiots looking to make a stink knowing the like minded buffoons will fall for it. BBS and T.J. were funded by the defense ministry under Gotabaya Rajapakshe with the payments directly handled by one Handawitharna the same guy who was chief of security at the Chinese government owned hotel the Shang-Gri-La built on defense headquaters property bequeethed to the numbered Chinese defense organization calling itself a company.
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rbh / July 8, 2019
The easter attack is the door way / entrance strategy to facilitate agreement
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Kalu Malli / July 8, 2019
That’s how the US works all across the globe via its proxy terror outfit called the CIA. In Iraq too they see themselves as guardians and peace keepers after they created Isis with their emirati friends and those Saudis/Israelis.
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Angelo Perera / July 8, 2019
Quisling before & quisling now with a pocket full of rye.
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The Oracle / July 9, 2019
What more could one expect from ‘leaders ‘ with no moral values , no families of their own , no love for the country of their birth , and have lived for several decades in the lap of luxury at the tax payers expense ? Their only purpose in life is to enjoy themselves to the fullest either in power or in opposition. These people are a curse to the nation and future generations.
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Thondamany / July 9, 2019
Alaina proposes a Bed instead and Ranil refused.
Afterall, our rulers are looters.
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