A senior Samagi Jana Balawegaya figure has written to his own party’s leadership arguing that the SJB has not done the organisational work needed to oppose the proposed 22nd Amendment, and has called for coordinated public protests on 24 and 25 September.
Ananda Palitha, United Trade Unions Convener and an SJB Executive Board member, said in the letter that the party’s Working Committee, trade unions, civil society groups and party organisations had not been convened to discuss how opposition to the amendment could be strengthened and expanded, the Daily Mirror reported.
What he is asking for
Palitha proposed that the Opposition Leader and SJB members immediately open discussions with other opposition parties, party organisations, lawyers, trade unions and civil society groups to organise a strong public protest on both days.
The campaign he outlines is broader than a single rally:
- Media discussions, demonstrations, posters and leaflet campaigns
- Banners displayed across the country calling for the amendment not to be passed
- Urgent joint meetings to coordinate the campaign
- Joint action by opposition parties, trade unions, civil society bodies and local-level organisations to show public opposition across electoral districts, Pradeshiya Sabhas and Urban Councils
He urged opposition groups to keep pressure on the Government both when the amendment is presented in Parliament and when it is taken up for a vote.
The criticism is internal, and that is the point
The SJB is already committed to a protest on 24 September, which the Daily Mirror reported on 18 September as a joint opposition action, and the party has separately challenged the amendment in the Supreme Court and staged a Colombo Fort demonstration under Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.
Palitha’s letter does not dispute any of that. What it says is that the machinery behind it was never assembled — that the Working Committee and the party’s affiliated unions and organisations have not been brought together to plan the campaign. A call from an Executive Board member for his own leadership to convene the party is a criticism of preparation, not of position.
His proposed two-day action also extends the announced programme, which had centred on 24 September alone.
Timing
The letter lands as the Supreme Court determination on the 22nd Amendment is expected to be presented to Parliament by the Speaker next week, according to Minister of Irrigation and Water Supply Susil Ranasinghe. The protest dates Palitha proposes fall in the same week the determination reaches the House.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say when the letter was sent, to whom within the leadership it was addressed, or whether the SJB has responded. It gives no indication of whether the Working Committee has since been convened, and does not carry comment from the Opposition Leader’s office or from any other SJB officeholder on the criticism.
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