Having led two abortive insurrections in 1971 and 1987-90, the JVP adopted the democratic process, vowing not to resort to violence, but the unfolding scenario in the country paints a different picture of the JVP.

At a TV talk show on Tuesday night, JVP Parliamentarian Anura Dissanayake vehemently denied his party was involved in violence and accused UNPers of putting the blame on the JVP for acts they had orchestrated.

Mr. Dissanayake charged that the UNF government had intensified its attacks on the JVP because it feared the party's rising popularity among the masses.

He said the JVP had no reason to resort to violence when it saw its popularity growing day by day.

But most of the UNP politicians are not ready to believe the JVP's non-violent assurances, given its past track record. It was the JVP which almost brought the country to a halt by violent means when it challenged the then government on the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord which was aimed at bringing about a solution to the ethnic conflict.

Once again the country is on the threshold of entering into a peace pact - this time with the LTTE - amid opposition from hardline elements. Given this scenario, many fear the JVP, the ardent critic of the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government, could exploit the situation to create chaos and confusion in the country.

The violent incidents witnessed in the recent weeks are cited by many as the harbinger of another uprising that would coincide with the peace pact with the LTTE.

The UNP has accused the JVPers of carrying out the murder of Walallavita Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, killing a Jayawardhanapura University student and firing at police during a tea factory protest in Walasmulla.

Responding to these charges, JVP's Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa, denies any involvement of his party but qualifies the statement by saying that just because a person from a particular party is involved in a murder does not mean the party has sanctioned his act.

But as regards the university incident, the victims say that since 95 percent of the university student population is affiliated to pro-JVP unions, the JVP should take the blame for the death of the third year student.

As things stand today, the burden of proving innocence has fallen on the JVP in spite of its denials and its challenge to the government to prove its involvement in the incidents.

The government it appears is determined to pursue these cases to the end. If the JVP is involved in the killing of the student and the Walasmulla rumpus, then it is committing political hara-kiri in the present context.

The UNF, no doubt, wants to crush the JVP's political clout because it is the driving force behind the SLFP. Without the JVP's support, the SLFP is a lacklustre force. While the SLFP or the PA is trying to come back to office with the help of the JVP, the JVP has a grand plan to push the PA to political oblivion, elevating itself to the alternate political force position in the country.

The UNF thinking therefore is far reaching and for it to remain in office and to form a stable government, its first priority should be to demolish the JVP politically.

The UNF knows well that the PA is not in a position to give it a fight, especially in view of the sliding popularity of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. In this context, the JVP's task of becoming the alternate political force becomes more easy.

So if the JVP wants to remain in the mainstream of politics despite its previous track record, it should steer clear of controversies and win the support of a majority of the people who still have some reservation about the JVP's democratic credentials.

Apart from the political fallout of the recent incidents, the civic conscious citizens call upon the government to take immediate steps to de-politicise the university education system in Sri Lanka.

The unhealthy political culture prevailing in the country has undoubtedly crept into universities making them mud holes of politics rather than seats of learning.

All parents want their children to learn and not indulge in politics. Politics is something that they should consider after completing studies.

Some time back, the universities thought it necessary to de-politicise their structure and appointed a commission, but it was stopped halfway through.

There should be strict regulations that prohibit students from engaging in party politics. In the past, student unions had their own struggles, but they were for limited purposes - to win more facilities for themselves.

This is the first occasion in the university history of Sri Lanka that a student had been killed by fellow students. The discipline in our society has deteriorated to such a low ebb that even the learned people do not have an iota of respect for the life of another.

A close scrutiny of the conditions of our universities is essential if we are to find a viable solution to the problem. It all boils down to a major social and economic problem, say university dons. In the universities, too, we find class differences. There are students from the urban-based elite class, the ruling class and the land-owning class. They mingle with less fortunate poor students who mainly come from the backwoods of the country.

Lack of English knowledge and inability to come up to the required standards even after obtaining a degree due to existing social conditions frustrate the less privileged students, creating a dent in the prevalent social system.

This is where the JVP factor comes in. The JVP ideology suits these conditions and preaches reducing or eliminating social inequalities. The less privileged are attracted by this kind of political philosophy. Motivated by this philosophy, they resort to violence when frustration builds up.

The JVP students, it appears, indulge in violent activities such as 'ragging' in a bid to force the fresh entrants to join their union.

The power of the JVP lies in social inequalities. It could be made impotent, if the government takes steps to address the social ills that contribute towards youth unrest and frustration.

The JVP has been able to replace the more moderate and traditional left political parties, since their struggles in the past have failed miserably.

With the advent of the market economy, the problems in the society aggravated creating a social imbalance. We are in a society where people treat their political parents as demi-gods since they believe that politics is an essential ingredient to make progress.

Let it be a wedding ceremony or a funeral, the presence of a politician has become essential to give that family additional status in society. It has become fashionable and a status symbol for many.

The volcano has exploded. The end result was a murder in a hallowed seat of learning. To deal with the situation, we need a set of guidelines for students. This can come in the form of legislation with penal consequences.

The behaviour of the Inter University Student Federation was appalling. Through its alleged violent act, it had wanted the authorities to dance to their tune.

So it is now high time to depoliticise universities and prevent student unions from being affiliated to any political party. This could be seen as an infringement of their rights, but for the greater good of the student community it may be essential.

The political parties then would stop preying upon budding intellectuals who would have to shoulder greater responsibilities in the future.

All in all, what we can see today is a disparity in society. While rich youngsters and not so young engage in fisticuffs along the corridors of five-star hotels whether it be over a bottle of champagne or a simple push, the more intellectual types have soiled the hallowed precincts of a university - a sad social indictment, indeed.

Besides these, one would try to see through the President's address to the nation on completing eight years of ascending the high office of Presidency.

This is the third time she addressed the nation in as many months. First, she gave an assurance before the 19th Amendment was tabled in Parliament that she wouldn't dissolve parliament till the expiry of the mandatory one year unless the ruling party loses its majority.

Then once the 19th Amendment was thrown out by the Supreme Court, she called for reconciliation and cohabitation between the President and the government. The third occasion was on completion of eight years in office. Some say these speeches are an attempt to gauge the mood of the electorate and to find out the most favourable period for her. It appears that she would try to undermine the efforts of the government by using all the resources available to her.

She has an able partner for this, the JVP which has launched a countrywide campaign against the peace process. The JVP believes that the UNF government has become a virtual prisoner in the hands of the LTTE. The JVP is all out to point a dismal and a negative picture of the government's peace efforts. The beneficiary of JVP efforts will be none other than President Kumaratunga.

The President in her speech referred to dishonest and undemocratic politicos and called for moves to ban them from politics. Who is being targeted by this statement has raised a political debate.

Analysts are trying to visualise as to what is in store for the UNF government under the Kumaratunga Presidency. She can very well scuttle the UNF programmes by removing one or two ministers and taking over their portfolios.

The President also suggested that an all-party national committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister should be set up.

This can be described as a well worked out plan by the President to put a spanner in the works of the peace process.

Committees on National Priority could be a non starter. In the J.R. Jayewardene era and the Premadasa era too we saw all-party conferences taking shape but eventually they produced nothing while the situation deteriorated.

So it is prudent at this juncture to allow the on-going peace process to proceed until it reaches a finality.

In the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, too, things are not in favour of Rauff Hakeem. The rebels appear to have taken the upper hand. The Prime Minister the other day had to send a helicopter to Kalmunai to bring down some of the SLMC rebels to vote for the first reading of the budget.

When the helicopter reached Kalmunai, people in the area wanted to carry out a thorough check and the pilot taking a serious note of what was going to happen flew back to Ampara. Later Defence Secretary Austin Fernando telephoned one of the rebel MPs who then agreed to come to Colombo in the same chopper with two others.

The problem facing Minister Hakeem appears to be of a serious nature. The rebels seem to think that Mr. Hakeem has faulted. There is an organised campaign against Mr. Hakeem. But the rebels have failed to realise the capability and the leadership qualities of Mr. Hakeem, who had been shepherding the flock since the demise of SLMC leader M. H. M. Ashraff in a plane crash.

Another setback suffered by Mr. Hakeem is the non participation of his own party leaders at an Iftar (Ramazan break fast) ceremony organised by him last week.

Mr. Hakeem who is the leader of the Muslim parliamentary group of the North and East, an appointment given by the Prime Minister is facing immense problems. But Hakeem - loyalists are of the view that with time the problems could be sorted out.

Mr. Hakeem has done so much for the benefit of the SLMC. But when things go bad, nobody realises the volume of work and the services he had put in for the party, one SLMC member told this column.

While the UNP is facing difficulties with President Kumaratunga, the JVP and the Muslim rebels, one of the few ministers who works on a programme regardless of what is happening in his environs is Rohitha Bogollagama.

After the success of the Yuga Dekma, Mr. Bogollagama has launched "Diri Gamana" - a novel programme under which he had planned to set up an industrial park in Nilemeraliya.

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