NATION SALUTES THE WORKING
CLASS FOR FOILING CONSPIRACY OF THE THUNPUTTU KALLIYA.
A.A.M.NIZAM MATARA.
The month of July had been the hallmark of several ill-fated days in
Sri Lanka. It was in July 1980 that several thousand workers were ruthlessly
dismissed for demanding a measly wage increase of Rs. 10 which subsequently
forced thousands of those victimized workers to commit suicide. The
self-proclaimed leader of working class Lalkantha pompously claimed
that life in Sri Lanka will be brought to a halt and the government
will be forced to kneel down on July 10th..
When the terrorist proxy TNA also joined the fray and the terrorist
leader blessed the strike of the JVP-UNP-TNA combine, Lalkantha became
further hawkish and vowed in Parliament on the 9th “Mama mage manthreekama
athharino, wruththeeya samithi nayakathwayath athharino, heta CTB eka
Langama bus NATHARAKARE NATTHANG” (I would relinquish my MP status,
relinquish Trade Union leadership if the CTB, the Langama buses were
not stopped tommorrow) the people feared a potential horrendous blood
bath on July 10th. It was in such a dismal situation, the heroic and
patriotic working class intelligently grasped the vicious conspiracy
of the despicable JVP-UNP-TNA combine to destabilize the government,
demoralise the security forces skilfully foiled the Thunputtu Conspiracy
admirably displaying their determination to join the masses to support
the security forces in their brilliant effort to end the terrorist menace.
The JVP continue to hold overestimation of the mandate given by the
masses in the 2004 General Election for them to be a part of the government
and naively believe on the contrary that it was a mandate given to them
to act on their own. Despite their claim to political astuteness their
haughty manners obsess them from understanding the people’s true
aspirations. They posses a false belief that people hold them in great
credence and people, especially the youth and the working class would
unreservedly oblige them, blindly acknowledge their proposals and heed
their calls for any sort of action.
This is what that made the politically immatured and haughty headed
Lalkantha to overestimate his capacity and erroneously believe that
he could play pandu with the working class of this nation who are patriotic
and love the nation over and above their personal welfare unlike their
treacherous new found allies UNP and TNA holding dearly to agendas for
the destruction of this country and help the terrorists.
Although the strike undoubtedly was a complete failure, Mr. Lalkantha
refusing to grasp the reality, still claims that 70% of the working
class struck work on Friday. This hilarious claim was self defeating
and its absurdity was evident to anyone..
There was no break down in electricity and water supplies, there was
no work stoppage in the ports, schools functioned as normal with few
teachers remaining absent including those belonging to pro-Terrorist
TNA union, Hospitals throughout the country functioned normal except
for some non-essential minor staff remaining absent, trains worked on
normal schedule packed with commuters as usual, SLTB busses operated
in all routes, challenging Mr. Lalakantha to fulfil his vow in the Parliament.
It is also reported that the CTB operated 127 additional busses on Friday.
Private buses too operated as normal with the usual haste to overtake
each other, the Government Departments and other services too, including
the distribution of petroleum functioned normally without any interruption.
It was amazing to note that the JVP Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha was
reported to have functioned normally without any one being on strike.
However, some workers of the 660 Unions Mr. Lalkantha claimed would
participate were reported to have joined the strike. They included some
Estate workers, Health Services Minor Unions and the sorting staff of
the Postal Department and their work stoppage did not make any significant
impact to make the government to kneel down as threatened by Mr. Lal
Kantha.
Contrary to the horrendous and brutal cycle-chain, club and sword attacks
carried out by the UNP government goons (mainly by the JSS and UNP patronised
Thugs and underground elements) at the time of the 1980 General Strike
killing Somapala and injuring scores of others including Trade Union
leaders admitting them in ICU Wards the complete freedom given by the
Government for the working class to exercise their trade union rights,
if they desired, is indeed praiseworthy and is of historical significance.
The total freedom of action given by the Government shattered all insidious
and hidden motives of the UNP and TNA gameplan of joining the strike
which was primarily to cause disturbance in the country, harass the
innocent masses, and pave the way to arrest the war and even foreign
intervention. The Thunputtu Kalliya anticipated that the government
would use force against the strikers that may result in death and injuries
so that they could market the incident as another act of so-called human
rights violation. It was the very reason the “foreign sales agent”
Ranil Wickremasinghe urged the JSS goons to join the strike. The Government
proved by its deeds that it is not a Government of heartless Urbanite,
Elite Clans but a worker-friendly Government committed to emancipation
of the poor,
In the meantime, it should be condemned by everyone the attacks and
disruptive activities carried out by the organisers of the strike. In
Kandy an ambulance driver named Hemasiri Jayawardene has been assaulted
with a sword attempting to kill him for rejecting the strike call. This
driver is severely wounded and is fighting for his life in the ICU ward
of the Kandy hospital. Attempts had been made to derail trains by placing
concrete slabs in the rail track at Beruwela, Hettipola and Rambukkana,
Further, railway signal installations have been destroyed at Aluthgama,
Beruwela and Gintota. Passengers travelling from Kurunegala in the train
had been splashed with burnt diesel oil (Kaluthel). In some other incidents
tyres of SLTB busses have been deflated. These acts confirm that the
objective of the strike was not related to employment grievances but
to cause destruction and mayhem in the country.
The JVP, which has shamelessly abandoned the cause of supporting our
gallant security forces and condemning of the terrorists, having entered
into a partnership with the very outfit UNP which it used to call as
“the anti national outfit and foreign puppets (Videsha Hasthaya)”
should come out from its self-imposed shell and represent the masses
that elected their Parliamentarians, majority of those who voted for
them in fact were SLFPers.
The fact that it was with the votes of SLFPers, and the absurd PR System
that most of the JVP Parliamentarians, and Provincial Council Members
got elected .It was clearly apparent through foolish bid they made to
contest Local Government Elections on their own. If they contested as
a coalition with the SLFP accepting the 30 Local Government Councils
offered by the President they would be holding the Chairmanship of 30
Local Government Institutions today. Another testimony for them to accept
the reality was the fewer number of votes they received in the recent
Eastern Province Elections. If the Government candidates succeeded in
getting another 144 votes the JVP would have lost the seat they got
and would have gone into the history as an “also contested”
in that election.
They have no moral right to be with the UNP that brutally murdered over
60,000 youth some of them were for the mere crime of possessing a notice
issued by JVP or holding an ID Card with an address from an area where
it was considered as a JVP stronghold. There was an incident of two
brothers of a traditional UNP family from Matara killed by State Terrorists
in Negombo for the crime of possessing such ID Cards.
It is due to some arrogant personalities and pro-UNP elements in the
JVP it has got boarded onto a downhill path in its popularity. It betrayed
the youth and the rural masses when it contested the Local Government
Elections alone and betrayed the working classes by deliberately overriding
the working class grievances and demand instead Anti-Terrorist Lobby
slogans such as postponing elections, human rights guarantees etc. If
Mr. Lalkantha is a honest politicians he had been claiming of he should
not delay in fulfilling the vow made in the Parliament last Wednesday.
The true patriotism fearlessly displayed by the working class by their
non-participation in the pro-terrorist anti-patriotic strike despite
various forms of duress and intimidation should receive the plaudit
of everyone as fittingly stated by the President. They in fact are real
heroes the whole nation should salute as their alignment with the cause
of the gallant security forces averted a major conspiracy floated by
the Thunputtu Kalliya
The Government should not allow the great sacrifice made by them to
pass over as another incident. They have true grievances and suffer
in silence without any means to overcome their problems, while the plunderers,
racketeers, and underground elements reign high. They are true patriots
and a main stumbling block against the reactionary scoundrels. Maximum
efforts should be made by the government to protect, and address the
grievances of this important sector at least in the forthcoming budget.
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