Sajith Premadasa releases unedited UN meeting footage

Sri Lankan Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has released unedited footage of his meeting with Marc-André Franche, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka. The release follows controversy surrounding a leaked video from a separate closed-door civil society meeting, in which Franche made remarks that Premadasa claims created misleading impressions in the media.

Premadasa stated the decision to share the full conversation, along with a Sinhala translation, was made in the interest of transparency and accountability. In the leaked footage, Franche had criticized Sri Lanka’s legislative processes and the disconnect between civil society and the political system, specifically citing the Online Safety Act as an example of lawmakers failing to fully understand legislation they supported.