JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva yesterday accused that the Colombo Port City leads Sri Lanka to become a victim of the power struggle in the Indian Ocean Region.
In order to fulfill the political and economic interests of China, Sri Lanka is inevitably falling victim to a regional power struggle, he said, observing that the United States, Japan, and India are leading camps on one side with China on the other.
“The Government pledged to pursue a non-aligned foreign policy but this leads to a position where we lose our sovereignty. We do not have the capacity to clash with these countries. Anyhow, we are dependent on Chinese and Indian loans. Thus, the Government is trying to bargain parts of the country in exchange for debt,” Silva said.
He said that the Supreme Court would only consider whether the Colombo Port City Economic Bill is in line with the Constitution, but it would not go into its economic and political implications on the country.
“A number of economic and political damages are expected from the Port City Bill. According to the Bill, Port city will be governed by a Commission five to seven people appointed by the President. It is unclear who will be appointed,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that the Port City would create two counties and two laws instead of one country and one law. “The Port city Bill excludes a number of Acts such as the Urban Development Act, Strategic Development Act, etc. Therefore, this does not belong to the Colombo Municipal Council or Western Provincial Council. In fact, the Parliament too is not accountable for this. We are going to make a grave mistake by taking this forward” he added.
MP Harini Amarasooriya also speaking to the media stated that the Colombo Port City would not be helpful to address the burning issues of the public.
“A Government that comes to power for five years has no right to make arbitrary decisions that could affect not only their tenure but also the generations to come. We urge the Government to seek the approval of the public before passing this Bill” she added.