Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has released what he says is the full, unedited 41-minute recording of his 3 September meeting with UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche, following controversy over remarks made by the UN official at a separate closed-door civil society meeting.
Premadasa said some media reports had created a misleading impression of their discussion and that he was releasing the complete recording, together with a Sinhala translation, in the interests of transparency, accountability and truthfulness. “I HAVE DIVULGED. NOW YOU CAN DECIDE,” he said, urging the public to assess the conversation themselves.
The controversy arose after a separate video circulated in which Franche questioned the disconnect between Sri Lankan civil society and the political system. Referring to his conversation with the Opposition Leader, he also questioned why the opposition was not concentrating on certain issues, including from the standpoint of opposing the government.
Franche argued that meaningful change required stronger links between civil society and political institutions, enabling civil society concerns to influence the political system. Despite his criticism, he expressed optimism about Sri Lanka’s prospects for reform, pointing to the strength, expertise and networks of the country’s civil society.
He was particularly critical of Sri Lanka’s policymaking and legislative process, citing the Online Safety Act. Franche claimed that he had spoken to approximately 45 MPs when the legislation was enacted and that even some lawmakers who voted for it had not read the legislation or understood the amendments submitted. He characterised this as a failure by legislators to perform their basic responsibilities and linked poor legislation to broader weaknesses in policymaking and strategy development.
The 3 September discussion between Premadasa and Franche addressed broader issues including democratic governance, economic recovery, climate preparedness and institutional accountability. Earlier reporting on the meeting said Premadasa advocated an integrated national resilience approach linking democratic, economic, climate and social resilience.
In essence, the newly released recording and the leaked civil-society video are two separate recordings: the former documents the Premadasa-Franche meeting, while the latter contains Franche’s subsequent remarks about political and civil-society engagement and Sri Lanka’s legislative process.
( With the inputs from the Colombo media)
The full video: