Sajith tells President to get facts right

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, on Friday, in Parliament, called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe to get the latter’s facts right before presenting them to the House without placing the country in an embarrassing position internationally.

Participating in a debate on President Wickremesinghe’s statement to Parliament, on Thursday, on measures being adopted to save the country from the present economic crisis, Premadasa said that the President had stated that Japan would assist Sri Lanka in the debt restructuring process and had agreed to co-chair the summit, pertaining to negotiating with creditor nations. “Within hours Japan rejected it.  A Japanese government official in Tokyo told international media that Japan had not yet reached any agreement to co-chair a debt summit with Sri Lanka’s creditors.

This is not good for the President, this Parliament and the entire country. The President may read out a speech given to him but care should be taken to check the facts, first. We do not know what the speech writers of the President are doing but it is certain that they do not check these facts. Finally, we all end up facing a huge embarrassment, internationally,” Premadasa said.