The US embassy in Colombo has inquired into the current activities of youth clubs, political sources said, following claims in society that they have been infiltrated by supporters of the National People’s Power (NPP).
The inquiry in the past week was part of US intelligence’s weekly briefings to the embassy with regard to prevailing and emerging political issues in the island, said the sources.
The embassy looked into the formation of youth clubs, preparation of members lists, appointments and the roles of the Youth Affairs Ministry and the National Youth Services Council.
Also in the past week, youth representatives told ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe about youth clubs being politicized, with a conspiracy to infiltrate them with NPP loyalists.
Wickremesinghe observed how he took steps as the subject minister in the 1977 government to hold youth conferences and to form youth clubs at village level without involving any politics in the process.
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