Opposition wanted meeting with Sri Lanka bondholders, not IMF, says Harsha
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said they had asked for a meeting with bondholders with whom restructuring talks are underway and not the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which President Ranil Wickremesinghe offered.
Opposition legislator Harsha de Silva said he asked in Parliament for a meeting with bondholders in the presence of President Wickremesinghe since any deal made by the current administration will commit the opposition which comes to power to upholding it.
If Sri Lanka strikes a deal with foreign bondholders which cannot be implemented, the country can go for a second default, he warned.
“What I said was that to come to an agreement with bondholders in a transparent manner with the agreement of opposition parties,” De Silva said, adding, “What was meant was not for the agreement to be brought to Parliament and approved by the 113 majority saying everyone is agreed.”
He elaborated that what he had asked for was to bring the opposition to a place where they could bear the responsibility, expressing the view that there was another group with Anura Dissanayake and that they should also be part of that responsibility.
Instead, President Wickremesinghe had offered a meeting with the IMF, which had in any case met the main opposition and other representatives.
The agreement with the IMF was done, though the SJB hoped to make changes if they came to power, he said, reiterating, “We did not ask for a meeting with the IMF”.
-economynext.com
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