Reality mellows Reds

Monday 20th June, 2022

The JVP has made a volte-face, and its ranting is trailing off as the seriousness of the prevailing crisis sinks in. It used to have the public believe that it could resolve the economic crisis single-handed, provided it was allowed to take up the reins of government. But today it is offering to join others in making a concerted effort to enable the country to manoeuvre out of the present crisis. It says it is willing to be part of an all-party government to be set up for a specific period––albeit conditionally. It wants the 21st Amendment to the Constitution passed and a general election held, among other things.

What has made the JVP become less obdurate and change its stance? It seems to have gone into damage-control mode since the eruption of counter-violence following the SLPP goon attacks on the Galle Face (GF) protesters on 09 May. Most people who gathered at the GF Green in support of the ‘Gota-go-Gama’ protesters began to vote with their feet when retaliatory violence broke out, snuffing out lives and destroying properties, and the involvement of the JVP and its offshoot, FSP (Frontline Socialist Party) in the protest campaign came to light. JVP politburo member K. D. Lal Kantha has admitted that his party called in some of its cadres to counter the SLPP goon attack on the GF agitators, and alerted others throughout the country. The GF protest would not have lasted for more than a few days but for succor from some private sector firms, which pulled out after the eruption of counter-violence and the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.

The JVP leaders seem to have woken up to the fact that it is politically disadvantageous for them to operate in a silo instead of working collaboratively to help the country overcome the crisis.

In the aftermath of recent political upheavals, which shook the country, the need arose for the formation of a truly national unity government consisting of all political parties with parliamentary representation. By no stretch of the imagination could the current administration be considered a unity government, for the Rajapaksas have it on a string. An alliance of opportunists and self-seeking turncoats, it advances the Rajapaksas’ agenda. Most of all, it does not have the main Opposition party’s backing; nor does it care a damn about consensual governance. It bulldozes its way through at the expense of the much-needed political reconciliation, as evident from the deplorable manner in which it secured the passage of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, recently.

The JVP is not alone in refusing to accept the present administration as an all-party government. The SLFP, the second largest constituent of the SLPP, has torn into the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government, which it considers a failure. Its leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena has stressed the need for a truly all-party interim administration to govern the country and hold a general election after bringing the current crisis under control. The other SLPP dissidents are also not well-disposed towards the incumbent government, which, they say, is under Basil Rajapaksa’s thumb.

The second largest party in Parliament—the SJB—also considers the current government a farce. It is asking for a snap general election. Thus, it is the considered opinion of the Opposition and the SLPP dissidents that the incumbent government serves no purpose, and a truly national unity government where all parties are represented has to be formed as a national priority.President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is from the SLPP, and, therefore, the Prime Minister of an all-party government, proposed by the SLFP, the JVP and others, should be appointed from a party other than the constituents of the ruling coalition, if power sharing is to be meaningful; the Opposition should be allowed to elect one of its MPs as the Prime Minister. That is the most democratic way to set about forming an all-party government to bring about consensual governance and convince the world that Sri Lanka is serious about helping itself and therefore deserves a helping hand.