Whither JVP?

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Sri Lanka can claim credit for producing ‘political firsts’; with pride, for electing the first female Prime Minister in the world, Sirimavo Bandaranaike; not so, though it may be unique in history, for electing Ranil Wickremesinghe as President in spite of his failure to retain his parliamentary seat at the last general election! However, even if Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) were elected President, it would not be a first, in that many leaders of parties whose origins could be traced back to terrorism have been elected leaders of countries around the world but as ‘reformed revolutionaries’ who have earned the people’s trust. This raises the question whether the JVP of today is a party of ‘reformed revolutionaries’? I greatly doubt that for good reasons.

I wrote an article, a year ago, titled “AKD: Own up to past atrocities for a start!” (The Island, 24 February 2023), which started with the following: “Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake, some people say it is time that you and your party, the JVP, were given a chance as all others have failed us, whilst others point out that there is hardly a difference between you and the others in the corrupt bunch of politicians we are blessed with. As pointed out by many political commentators, your group is as hypocritical and self-serving as the others but some say that you are not as corrupt; but you have not been in power to test your incorruptibility. After all, it is power that corrupts!”

I concluded mine with the following appeal: “AKD! I have given all the details so that I leave no room for doubt. I am sure there are many other families who lost their loved ones at the hands of the JVP goons. To ameliorate their pain, which has not reduced over years, there is one thing you can do. Own up to the past and tender an unqualified apology as a start. If you cannot muster the courage to do so, you cannot call yourself a guardian of democracy and you are no leader!”

As pointed out in my article “Remembering my uncle murdered by JVP” (The Island, 13 February 2024) what is striking is the denial of repeated requests to AKD to own up to the past and tender an apology for the numerous atrocities committed in the name of the JVP. Perhaps, it was fortuitous that my article was printed shortly after the return of AKD from a trip to our ‘Big Brother’ feeling the warmth in corridors of power but it was interesting that two pieces referring to that visit were printed just below mine.  Whilst Dr P.A. Samaraweera’s piece “JVP leader in New Delhi” mockingly referred to AKD’s sartorial mimicry, it was rather difficult to comprehend what Brigadier (Retd) Ranjan de Silva meant in his piece “AKD’s Visit to India” except that he was attacking ‘nay bobs’.

As I was flummoxed as to whom he was referring, I sought the help of OED and found no such word, the closest being nabob which is derived from nawab, a Muslim ruler in India and on extended usage means ‘a wealthy, influential, or powerful landowner or other person, esp. one with an extravagantly luxurious lifestyle’. Perhaps, these are the people the JVP still consider to be their enemies! It looked as if the retired brigadier wanted to justify AKD’s reversal of stance on India and proceeded to mention great names in history in an attempt to impart greatness by association! However, it made one thing clear; why he was so annoyed with me on the only occasion when I heaped praise on Ranil (Ranil seems to have seen sense, at last! The Island, 6 October 2023) and countered the criticism of ‘Interested Woman’ (Ranil’s undiplomatic DW interview, The Island, 9 October) by mine titled “Should we be eternally subservient?” (The Island, 11 October). He took up cudgels on her behalf and I responded to his reply in The Island of 17 October with mine titled “Are we so bad?” (The Island, 23 October). Though I decided not to respond to his reply, which was printed in The Island on 27th October, as it was more a personal attack than factual, I can now state what made me forsake my Motherland, which he accused me of; I was forced largely by the second wave of terror unleashed by JVP from 1987-89.

During this second wave of terror, in addition to numerous political assassinations and murdering of dissidents, many innocents were terrorised and killed for simply not following orders.  Close to 50 school principals and tea estate owners have been killed for defying JVP orders sent via ‘chits’. JVP website, adorned with an image of Rohana Wijeweera on the left and Hammer & Sickle logo on the right, under the caption ‘A brief history of the JVP’ refers to the second uprising as follows: “The JVP then had only one option to prevent the abdication of sovereignty and the division of Sri Lanka. The JVP took the correct decision to launch an armed struggle to defeat all enemies of Sri Lanka. The majority of people of Sri Lanka supported the patriotic struggle until it was crushed by the UNP regime who engaged paramilitary groups and state-sponsored killer squads to kill more than 60,000 people.” Interestingly, in reference to the original insurrection in 1971, it states: “The JVP was able to re-organise within a short time throughout the country and within the prison camps. The JVP held serious discussions regarding its activities and experiences before April 1971 and during the period from 1971-1974. The JVP identified its past mistakes and took serious action to correct them in order to re-organise.”

Interestingly, they seem to have learned lessons from the first defeat but not from the second. It cannot be forgotten that they have been continuously disrupting the working of universities, forgetting that education is the only way of empowering youth!

Being on the lookout for any changes in JVP policies, I was delighted on noticing the headline “Dispelling Misconceptions: Visionary Future of an NPP-led Sri Lanka” in the page one panel of The Island on 20th February but was greatly disappointed when I read the piece by Dr Shantha Jayarathne as it was more a wish-list, like of which we had seen from many political parties before elections! An attempt is made to project the NPP as a coalition of visionaries led by the JVP, harping on incorruptibility, conveniently forgetting their propping up corrupt administrations like Yahapalanaya! Judging by the events that followed the ouster of Gota, it is obvious that the JVP has not given up violence as a means of achieving power, either.

The Island

editorial “JVP: Eclosion or facade?” on 27 February, has exposed the hypocrisy of JVP policies. What is needed is an admission by the JVP leadership that their policies of the past are no longer valid, in addition to admitting responsibility for the two bloodbaths. Even if this is not forthcoming, disgruntled voters may still vote for the JVP without realising that they would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire!