JVP to withdraw support for Govt.

• Somawansa hits out at President’s moves, says war turned into politics

By Our Political Editor

The JVP is to withdraw its support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Government if he accommodates a group of UNP parliamentarians who want to cross over.

The UNP group, said to be around 15 and led by the deposed deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya, is due to join the Government in the coming week. Some of them are to be sworn in as cabinet ministers.

The question of withdrawing support was discussed by the JVP's politburo during a meeting on Wednesday. JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe told the meeting that his party supported and helped President Rajapaksa win the presidential elections in November, 2005.

He said the President won a mandate from the voters on the basis of policies and principles he enunciated in the Mahinda Chinthana. But the President was now joining hands with the UNP that opposed these policies and principles.

Mr. Amerasinghe charged that in joining hands with a section of the UNP, President Rajapaksa was now wanting to do what he liked.

The JVP leader also referred to the military operations underway in Vakarai. He noted that it was good if these operations were part of the action to weaken and defeat the LTTE. It could then be termed a national effort. But he said it appeared that even such activity was being turned into a political effort to gain mileage. This, he said, was wrong and had to be condemned.

The politburo decided to summon a meeting of the party’s central committee within the next two weeks to finally decide on the matter.

Meanwhile the politburo has decided to educate party trade unions and other organisations on the current developments. During a discussion on this matter, party stalwart K.D. Lalkantha strongly criticised a recent Police assault on JVP trade unionists.

He asked whether bashing the heads of workers who helped vote President Rajapaksa to power was also part of Mahinda Chinthana.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Mr. Amerasinghe also said the JVP had every right to topple the Government if it went back on its promises and led the country nowhere. See page 3 for the interview.

Meanwhile, JVP frontliner Vijitha Herath in another interview with our reporter Shelani Perera said the party had pulled out of the All-Party Representative Committee because it totally disagreed with the latest report being discussed in the committee.

He said most of the proposals in this report were not submitted by parties in the committee but by outsiders, including NGOs.

APRC chairman Tissa Vitharana said the JVP did not attend the last two meetings of the committee. He said the latest report had not been submitted to the JVP but was given to other parties in the committee, because the JVP did not attend the meetings.

Minister Vitharana said if the JVP disagreed with the latest report, it could attend the APRC meeting and discuss the differences of opinion.

Prof. Vitharana said the committee was making progress and hoped to submit its final report in two months.

He said at the last meeting of the committee, he had submitted a report including proposals made by all experts. The minister said amendments to this report were welcome and they would be considered before the final report was made.