ECONOMYNEXT – A fringe Sri Lankan group protested in front of the US Embassy in capital Colombo and urged US President Donald Trump to investigate if the USAID funding was used to oust former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa through mass protests.
Coalition Against Partition of Sri Lanka, a little known fringe group with dozens of people who claimed to be patriots also urged Trump to take action against the current US Ambassador for promoting LGBTQ among Sri Lankan children.
Soon after his taking oath, Trump under his executive orders said: “There are only two genders: male and female.”
President Donald Trump’s overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance has led to chaos in the aid and development field, leaving hundreds of contractors in a severe financial crunch with some already having to lay off staff and others facing millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.
Social media reports have said the US money through its funding agencies and partners have been used to spread chaos in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, UK and the US.
“We are now looking into how this money has been used for the regime change (in Sri Lanka),” Sarath Weerasekara, a former minister under ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, who was a participant at the protest, told reporters.
“We request a full inquiry into that. That’s why we have come in front of the Embassy with some patriotic groups to express our protest.”
Weerasekera, a retired Navy Admiral, was refused a US visa two years ago without explanation by the US Embassy in Colombo.
“We might have internal problems within ourselves and with parties. But we don’t want a foreign country to poke its hand into our internal matters.” he said while expressing his condemnation for the activities of USAID and the current Ambassador.
“On what basis the money was spent and who was given money? We need an inquiry on what purpose the money was spent,” he said.
“What were the projects? How was the money spent? We want to know all the details.”
“If the USAID is completely investigated, we should be able to know the details.”
The US Embassy officials were not immediately available for comments on the protest.
The immediate aid freeze of US funding on programmes aiming for diversity and inclusiveness is likely to hit funding for many local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka, sources have said.
The United States is the world’s biggest international aid donor spending $68 billion in 2023 according to the US government figures. (Colombo/February 13/2025)
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