International forces funding local political parties

By Yohan Perera   

There are no international conspiracies to disrupt the nation but there are some parties who provide funds for strikes and protests, a Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Eran Wickramaratne said yesterday.   

It is common knowledge. No political party is able to collect funds from their members for purposes such as putting up tents, hiring of chairs and sound equipment. I can make this point clearly with my experience as a former treasurer of UNP. However I don’t want to mention the names of the international forces who provide funds” he said.   

The MP was responding to a remark made by UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardene who said there is an international conspiracy to disrupt the nation,   

Commenting on the IMF , the MP said Sri Lanka is slated to secure IMF assistance. “We have no objection against the government seeking assistance from IMF. Our only criticism is the lack of transparency in this regard,” he said.   

“IMF only provides advice on taxes and power tariff increase but it is the Sri Lanka government which decides on the percentages of the increments,” he said.