‘Sajith-Ranil alliance’ against NPP: GL denies Chung’s intervention

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Dissident SLPP MP Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday (25) said that there was absolutely no basis for claims that US Ambassador Julie Chung told him of the urgent need for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa to reach a consensus with President Ranil Wickremesinghe to counter the threat posed by the JVP-led NPP.

The former External Affairs Minister said so when The Island inquired about recent speculative reports of the SJB aligning itself with President Wickremesinghe. Prof. Peiris said that he wouldn’t have bothered to respond to these claims if certain interested parties propagated this lie based on a recent meeting he had with Ambassador Chung.

The government, while falsely declaring its intention to regulate social media through the enactment of the Online Safety Act, was busy propagating blatant lies, Prof. Peiris said.

In addition to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, SJB leader Premadasa and JJB leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have declared their candidature at the forthcoming presidential election. Leader of the breakaway UNP faction, Premadasa has repeatedly ruled out any link up with the UNP under any circumstances.

The academic said that he drew the attention of parliament to the fake story regarding Ambassador Chung’s intervention when he spoke on January 23, on the first day of two-day debate on the Online Safety Bill.