Sri Lankan Left Groups Condemn Government’s New Labour Agreement with Israel

Image: A pro-Palestine demo in Colombo.

A coalition of Left movements, progressive organisations, and concerned citizens has issued a strongly worded letter to Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, condemning the government’s decision to expand diplomatic and labour ties with Israel.

The signatories accuse the NPP Government of a “profound moral and political failure” for facilitating the deployment of Sri Lankan workers to Israel and to territories under Israeli occupation. They argue that such cooperation, amid what they describe as the “genocidal eradication of the Palestinian people,” makes Sri Lanka “a complicit participant” rather than a neutral state.

The letter singles out Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra for signing a new Memorandum of Understanding on 22 December 2025. The groups say his refusal to meet Palestinian Authority representatives during a recent visit marks a “180-degree reversal” from his earlier public support for Palestinian rights.

The signatories warn that the government, elected with a two‑thirds majority, is abandoning its historic legacy of non‑alignment and solidarity with oppressed peoples in favour of “readily available economic incentives.” They argue that this shift undermines Sri Lanka’s moral standing and its long‑held diplomatic credibility.

Calling for an immediate reversal of policy, the groups urge the government to uphold Global South solidarity and reaffirm Sri Lanka’s historic commitment to justice, anti‑colonialism, and international human rights.

The Letter:

January 08th, 2025

Min. Vijitha Herath,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Republic Building,

Colombo-01

Dear Minister Herath,

We write to you with deep disappointment, anger, and shame as signatories representing Left movements, progressive organisations, and people committed to justice and international solidarity in Sri Lanka.

The NPP Government’s recent actions to expand diplomatic and labour ties with the State of Israel—at a time when it is actively engaged in the genocidal eradication of the Palestinian people—represents a profound moral and political failure. By facilitating the deployment of Sri Lankan labour to Israel, and to territories it occupies illegally, the Sri Lankan state is no longer a neutral observer, but a complicit participant in sustaining a genocidal and apartheid system.

The signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 22nd December 2025, by Deputy Minister, Arun Hemachandra is inexcusable. Especially given that prior to coming into power, the Deputy Minister was a vocal and visible supporter of the rights of the Palestinian people. His recent visit to the region, during which he reportedly refused even to meet representatives of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, marks an indefensible 180-degree reversal in both NPP and JVP party positions on Palestine. This reversal is a clear betrayal of human values, leftist principles, and the trust of the people who gave this Government a two-thirds majority mandate.

With a two-thirds mandate, this government was entrusted not merely with administrative authority, but with moral leadership. Instead, it has chosen to sacrifice a principled foreign policy stance, something invaluable in the international diplomatic landscape, for readily available economic incentives. In doing so, the government has sold what cannot be bought back: credibility, conscience, and historical legacy.

At a time when the Global North continues to demonstrate blatant indifference to the destruction, displacement, and suffering it inflicts upon the peoples of the Global South, the urgent need of the hour is Global South solidarity—a people’s solidarity rooted in shared histories of colonialism, resistance, and struggle. Sri Lanka should be strengthening this solidarity, not undermining it.

We remind you that in the 1950s, Sri Lanka stood at the very centre of such a principled international movement. That legacy of non-alignment, moral clarity, and solidarity with oppressed peoples continues to benefit our country diplomatically to this day. Yet, the short-sighted decisions of the current NPP/JVP Government, through shortsighted diplomacy

has squandered this inheritance, preventing Sri Lanka from occupying a similar position of respect and leadership moving forward.

We urge you, and by extension, the NPP Government, to reconsider this dangerous trajectory. The forces that are conducting this genocide in Palestine do not look at our country and our people any differently, and the compromise we make for the demands of “Justice” and “Freedom” for the people of Palestine is the compromise they will demand we make of ourselves.

Yours sincerely,

The undersigned signatories of Left movements, progressive organisations, and concerned citizens of Sri Lanka.

Signatories
Individuals (Organisation/s represented)

1. A.K. Azeez
2. Aamina Nizar
3. Abdulla Ibrahim
4. Adil ibrahim
5. Ahmed Ishrath Mohideen
6. Ahmed Muhsin
7. Ali Sadique
8. Amaarah Kellapatha
9. Amras Ali
10. Anberiya Hanifa (Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum)
11. Anne-Marie Fonseka
12. Ayesha Muhsin
13. Azhar Munas
14. Balasingham Skanthakumar – Co-Editor (Polity)
15. Baudeen Ibrahim
16. Bishop Duleep de Chickera
17. Chirantha Amarasinghe
18. Christopher Stephen
19. Dr. Farah Mihlar
20. Dr. Mahendran Thiruvarangan – University of Jaffna
21. Dr. Misha’ari Weerabangsa (Delete Nothing)
22. Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra
23. Fahima Sahabdeen
24. Fareena Ibrahim
25. Fathi Allie
26. Fathima Ilma Riyaz
27. Fathima Isharah Mohideen Magdon Ismail
28. Fathima Jihara Mohamed
29. Fathi Saleh
30. Fr. Jeevantha Peiris
31. Fr. Terrence Fernando
32. Gihan De Zoysa
33. Gnei Fazana Ibrahim
34. Hafsa Ossman
35. Hajara Ibrahim
36. Hana Ibrahim
37. Heba Husain
38. Hejaaz Hizbullah – Attorney-at-Law
39. Hussain Shamil Imtiaz Ali
40. Imran Rajabdeen – Social Activist
41. Indra Saparamadu
42. Iqbal Ibrahim
43. Ismail Ibrahim
44. Jaan De Zoysa
45. Janice De Zoysa
46. Jeana De Zoysa
47. Juweriya Ibrahim
48. Kareema Hussain
49. Krishni Panditharatne
50. Lionel James Harold Peiris
51. Maimuna Ibrahim
52. Mario Gomez (International Centre for Ethnic Studies)
53. Marisa de Silva
54. Megara Tegal
55. Melani Gunathilaka
56. Mevantha Senanayake
57. Mohamed Huzam Hussain
58. Mohamed Zahran
59. Nagulan Nesiah
60. Nasreen Bawa
61. Nicola Perera – University of Colombo
62. Parveen Seyed
63. Prof. Jayantha Senevirate
64. Puni Selvaratnam
65. Rahma Ibrahim
66. Rasheeda Ibrahim
67. Reza Suĺaiman
68. Riyal Reffai (People’s Movement Against Corruption)
69. Rohini Hensman – Writer and Independent Scholar
70. Saad Ibrahim
71. Sabeera Cader
72. Sabina Mohideen
73. Sadique Salih
74. Salma Ibrahim
75. Sameera Mahboobdeen
76. Sanjee Goonetilake
77. Sarah Kellapatha
78. Sarah Salih
79. Sara Raffa
80. Satya Burgess
81. Serena Burgess
82. Shameem Ahamed
83. Shamima Salie
84. Shazna Refai
85. Shifa Noor Hafeera Munas
86. Shreen Saroor (Women’s Action Network)
87. Srinath Goonerathna
88. Srinath Perera, AAL (Tea Workers Center)
89. Sulochana Peiris – Independent Documentary Maker and researcher
90. Sunanda Deshapriya – Journalist, Writer and Human Rights Activist
91. Swasthika Arulingam (Commercial and Industrial Workers’ Union/United Federation of Labour)
92. Thasneema Dahlan
93. Thisaru Guruge
94. Tina Karunaratne
95. Tisaranee Gunasekara
96. Tracy Holsinger
97. Usman Nizam
98. Ven. Fr. Samuel J Ponniah
99. Ven. Kalupahana Piyaratana – Former Commissioner, Human Right Commission Srilanka
100. Zuleiha Nizam