Interview : JVP on putting violent past behind and upcoming polls

[caption id="attachment_56180" align="alignright" width="98"] JVP Party Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka[/caption]

The JVP which is hoping to win a strong presence in Parliament at Monday's general election has been critical of both the previous regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as the Government of Ranil Wickremesinghe.

JVP s leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka who is leading the Party to its first Parliamentary electoral test since being appointed as leader in February last year spoke to the Sunday Times on a wide range of issues including how it has put its violent past behind for  good and is now moving into a new sphere in politics.

Here are excerpts of the interview:-

1. The JVP has asked for a strong presence in Parliament, not to form the government. This seems a realistic approach but why can’t the JVP form a government on its own? We request from the people that, if we cannot be given power, at least grant us a strong presence in the Parliament; because the parliament must be changed. Today the parliament is one of the most unpleasant places in the country. It has become a place not suitable even for children to visit. It (the parliament) cannot continue like this. That’s why we ask of the people to grant us a strong presence in the parliament.

2. Your party has admitted to the mistakes of the past and wants to move on. What would you say are the mistakes the JVP made in the past? Was it your violent past – the 1971 and 1987-89 insurgencies?

A: The incidents of ‘88-’89 were not isolated, sudden incidents. J R Jayawardene, in order to establish his power, started attacking the parties of the Opposition: Sirimavo Bandaranaike lost her civic rights as a result; also internecine trouble was created within the SLFP.

We contested in the 1978 by- elections. Also, during the ’82 presidential elections we tried to put forward a common candidate. As that didn’t work out, our party contested on its own. Later, J R Jayawardene had a public opinion poll on whether the people want an election or not.

Following this public opinion poll we went to the supreme courts declaring the way the poll was conducted was not legal. Our intention was to establish democracy. During Black July, J R Jayawardene banned our party. Lots of efforts were made to lift the ban; the trade unions of the country went to Supreme Court; but to no avail. So we of the JVP were faced with a dilemma: either we continue, or we leave politics altogether. We decided to continue our involvement in politics, ban or no ban. In 1988, our Matara district organizer was slain. Then the Indian army took over our country. It was an invasion; J R made our country bow to India. Those were grave issues. So all this led to an inevitable armed conflict between the government and us. The UNP massacred nearly 60,000 of our members including Rohana Wijeweera.

Mao Zedong said “A revolution is not a dinner party.” Things happened (by our hands) that should not have happened. We are repentant about those. However, after ’89 we have been in politics for 25 years, and during that period we didn’t throw so much as a pebble at anyone. Some of our numbers were killed by government thugs. But we did nothing to retaliate. Thus we demonstrated to the people that “armed politics” is no longer valid.

That is why we said this is not an age for war using cannon. What we have now is war between ideas. We are ready for that. But neither Mahinda Rajapaksa nor Ranil Wickremesinghe seem to be ready for a battle between ideas. We invite them to an open discussion.

3.Why do you still commemorate your founder leader Rohana Wijeweera then? Doesn’t it ‘put off those who recall the JVPs violent past? A: There were riots in ’88-’89. Then there was the war. After riots and wars, history is written by the victors. The UNP won the ’88-’89 riots. So they projected a wrong, and much distorted, image of us and our leaders, including Rohana Wijeweera, to the people.

4. Your past seems to move from a proletarian movement to one that is attracting the educated professional middle class vote base. Is that an accurate assessment of the direction of your past? A: We are entrusted with the task of developing this country. In order to do that, we want all sections of society to contribute. We want farmers, fishermen, and working people. We want businessmen, industrialists, investors, professionals, intellectuals. We believe in this firmly and our opinion on it will not change. Today in the world everything is globally connected: technology, communication, transportation. Today knitting needles made in China and wool made in Korea are used in Sri Lanka to put together clothes intended for Eskimo customers in the poles. The journey we have to make, we have to make together with the world. No one can go forward avoiding the larger, outside world. We are ready to make that journey forwards.

5. When the JVP was part of the 2004 government, they left soon after. Is your Party too ideological or idealistic for Sri Lankan politics? Does it mean you are only an opposition party?

A: In 2004 we entered into an alliance with the SLFP not at all with the intention of building up the country or the economy. We had no such illusions. What we knew was that in order to stop the country getting fragmented over to the conflict in the North, Ranil will have to be defeated. We joined the SLFP with that intention. But when Chandrika Bandaranaike presented the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS) with Ranil, we left that government. We went in to that government to avoid the country getting split up; we left it for the same cause.

6. What are the aims and targets of your party following this election?

A: We believe we will gain a strong power in the Parliament. According to the Constitution, the next general elections will be after February 2020. We have got more than four and a half years. We do not in any way expect the JVP to reign alone. We will have a ‘front’ which will include the JVP many other forces representing many other interests and parties: lawyers’ parties, trade unions, labourers, etc.

This united front will have a dialogue with society on developing the country and on new political opinions. A primary stage of this project can be seen in our national list. After holding dialogues with people in the coming four and a half years, in the 2020 elections we plan for a shift in power.

Existent political parties can no longer lead us. They are traditional, old fashioned, and no longer valid. Promises in ’71, promises in ’77, promises in ’94, promises in 2015: there’s nothing new.

These politicians come to solve their own problems and not the people’s problems. They want their children to be MPs, and secure positions for their relatives. Mahinda came, and made his brother chief minister and also the brother’s son. All close relatives were given top positions.

It is clear that these two political parties can no longer govern. They have merely been engaged in business.

7 The JVP gave “outside support” for the post January 8 Government. How satisfied or dissatisfied, as the case maybe, were you with this administration? A: It is customary in our country that a presidential election is followed closely by a general election. But this time we had hundred days of inter-governance. We wanted the country to benefit from that government. It was due to our action that the 19th amendment was preserved to this extent. And it was due to our action that corruption and chicanery was reduced to this extent. But we could not do our maximum, because the political needs of the President and the Prime Minister come up against us.

8: Are those serving in institutions probing corruption and criminal activities of politicians and their henchmen doing their work properly? A: The officials of institutions conducting investigations as well as the heads of the institutions genuinely want to round up criminals. They are totally dedicated to their work. They are working bravely despite threats. But it is sad that they are not provided with security or other help. Both the President and Prime Minister are to be blamed for this.

9: But you still think it is still better than the previous administration, of which you were early partners in 2004? Looking at the kind of people and the leadership of the (current) government, we cannot hope of a great difference from 2004. But this time, the people who brought the party to power is standing strong; they are on the watch out. Because of that, this government cannot be up to the same old tricks. They came to power accusing the previous government of misuse of state property during elections. They also accused the previous government of interfering with the police. So they now cannot do the same thing. So if we can bolster the people’s power, we can avoid a considerable amount of destruction.

10 What is your opinion of the use of communalism by politicians?

A: Our country has very unsavory memories of 30 years of war. The numbers of those who died is not known. It is not known if a vast number are even dead or alive. Property worth billions was lost. The country’s journey forwards got retarded by years. So we cannot let racism raise its head again. But in history we have seen how racism gets dragged in when people want to gain power or retain power that has been gained. In the 1977 elections the TULF asked to vote for the ‘Sun’ for a separate state. Thus in order to increase the number of MPs they roused racism. Similarly in 1981 the UNP thugs set fire to the Jaffna library, and deprived those people of their democratic rights. But it was not them who had to suffer from racism. In the North as well as in the East children of ordinary families had to bear the brunt of it all.

Today too (TNA leader) R. Sampanthan is trying to flare up racism in the North; Mahinda (Rajapaksa) is doing the same here (in the South). All they want is a larger number of seats. We ask of the Tamil people in the North, don’t allow racism. And we ask of the Sinhalese people, too, not to allow Rajapaksa racism.

11: Should there be an investigation of what happened during the war against the LTTE? A: What led to international scrutiny and investigations of the war in our country was the bad foreign policy of the Rajapaksa regime. If we are to solve this issue we will have to establish democracy and secure human rights. We also have to properly assess the war and what happened during the war. There is no other way to deal with it. We will have to act in a civilized way.

By Chandani Kirinde