Signing them sans House approval violates Constitution: Dinesh

The government’s failure to obtain parliamentary approval for the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to be signed with the US is a violation of the constitution, joint opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardene told parliament yesterday.

“The House is of the opinion that the government should seek its approval before signing these agreements and if it is not done it can be considered a violation of the Constitution and the people's sovereignty," he said.

The MP said the people's representatives should have the right to know about these agreements and asked whether the government had signed the MCC agreement before presenting it to the Cabinet.

He said the Minister of Foreign Affairs had failed to present the ACSA and SOFA to parliament though he undertook to do so.

“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is reluctant to inform parliament about the proposed agreements,” the MP said. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)