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PA split over Hyde Park rally
By Harinda Vidanage
Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse and SLFP frontliner Anura Bandaranaike are clashing openly over who did what for whom at last Tuesday's Hyde Park rally.
Mr. Rajapakse told The Sunday Times the views expressed by Anura Bandaranaike at the JVP-organsied rally were not the views of the party.

He said it was good to have different views but as a party the policy was to work together and say one thing. By thinking together, the SLFP could come out together from any situation, he said. The opposition leader recalled that even during the time of the PA government and its attempted peace plan, the JVP was not clear on its stand. He said he was not invited to last Tueday's Hyde Park rally and even if invited would have sought the permission of the party before attending.

He said the JVP had earlier wirtten to President Kumaratunga, asking her tosend a representative to the Nugegoda rally but she declined. Mr. Rajapakse said on that basis, the SLFP parliamentarians who attended the Hyde Park meeting had done so on a private arrangement. Mr. Bandaranaike told The Sunday Times he was the only person invited by the JVP to attend the rally and also give a speech though the rally featured other SLFP parliamentarians as well.

He said that by his presence it also meant the representation of the SLFP at the rally as well. He dismissed the claim that this rally was against the peace process but said it was against the "extremely dangerous clauses of the ceasefire agreement" and the de proscription of the LTTE. Commenting on what he termed as 'extremely dangerous', the former speaker said allowing the LTTE to do politics in whole of Sri Lanka could be disastrous. He said the LTTE had not been involved in democratic politics for even a day of its two-decade history.

JVP propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa said that the invitation to attend the JVP meeting was faxed to the President and the Secretary of the SLFP and also a letter was sent by registered post. Mr. Weerawansa said that keeping away from this rally by giving petty excuses like not being invited was unacceptable since this was a national crisis and if a person wanted to attend he could have come. Communist Party leader Raja Collure said the views expressed by the SLFP representatives were not the views of the PA as well. He said that the PA had not yet decide on any stance.

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