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Workers islandwide rally on May Day for their day in the sun
View(s):Thousands of people came out in force on Thursday to celebrate International Workers’ Day popularly known as May Day, with political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations holding marches and meetings to rekindle the spirit of the working masses in the country.
Provincial Council member Hirunika Premachandra extends her hand to MP Namal Rajapaksa for an autograph during the May Day parade.
The largest May Day rally was led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, where the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and several of the constituent parties that form the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) gathered at Campbell Park in Colombo. It was a sea of blue and red from among the crowds.
Under the theme ‘Safeguard the Motherland and Freedom’, a crowd estimated around 100,000 joined the rally, marching from the Nelum Pokuna Theatre to Campbell Park. President Rajapaksa too joined the march along with several Cabinet ministers.The highlight of the UPFA meeting was the address by President Rajapaksa who asked the people to be cautious about “conspiracies’ being hatched to disrupt the working class.
“They even tried to close down factories in Katunayake and Rathupaswela by bringing up various stories. Sometimes our people were fooled by these lies,” he said.
The President said his government was able to provide work for over 1.4 million people. In lighter vein the President said that the government had taken steps to give no-pay off days to
It's not a case of the cow jumps over the moon but a cow decides to join the JVP parade
husbands whose wives were pregnant. “But instead they stay somewhere else,” he joked, saying that now they will have to get a letter from the wives to see if the husbands really stayed with them.
Several performances by Sri Lanka Youth kept the attendees entertained throughout the event. There also seemed to be a free flow of liquor at the May Day rallies, with some lying comatose among the crowds.
However, there were a few notable absentees from among the UPFA’s constituent partners, namely Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Tissa Vitharana.
Mr. Weerawansa who is the leader the National Freedom Front (NFF) in a statement said the party had decided not to join the UPFA May Day celebrations, as the NFF would be holding its second annual convention on Monday, where the challenges faced by the country and how best to overcome them would be discussed.
The main Opposition United National Party (UNP) held its rally in Ampara, away from the hustle and bustle of Colombo. In the absence
Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka waves at UPFA supporters in a state-run bus heading for their rally at Campbell Park
of its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Acting Leader Karu Jayasuirya led the celebrations under the theme “A reasonable salary and a government that protects workers’ rights”.
Mr. Jayasuriya said that the UNP was focusing on forming a common opposition front to face the next presidential or parliamentary polls in a bid to topple the Rajapaksa administration.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) under its new leader MP Anura Dissanayaka held its rally at the BRC grounds in Colombo. Mr. Dissanayaka told the crowd that
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva is seen dozing off even when President Mahinda Rajapaksa makes his entrance on to the stage for the UPFA May Day rally
the government had failed to address the problems of the working masses in the country, including farmers, youth, and the overseas workforce.
The Democratic Party (DP) of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka held its
Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) General Secretary Bala Tampoe who turns 92 this month walks the May Day parade. He is believed to be the oldest active trade unionist in the country.
May Day rally at the Buddadasa Grounds in Battaramulla, where the leader called on the public to support efforts to end the rule of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“The Rajapaksa administration is misusing public finances. The President is a former Labour Minister but he is ignoring their rights,”Mr Fonseka said
He said the DP would ensure that a worker’s charter was put in place to safeguard the rights of the working masses.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held three separate May Day rallies– in Chavakachcheri, Kilinochchi, and Batticaloa. In Chavakachcheri, Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran called for the scaling down of the military presence within the province. There were also calls to bring down the cost of living in the north.
Reporting by Aanya Vipulasena, Damith Wickremasekera and Kasun Warakapitiya