CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Rift in the JVP

Herold Leelawardena

Like most political party leaders in this country, the current JVP leader too appears to have lost track of his and his party's true strength. He and his party hierarchy conjure up they are very popular, and the people look up to them as their saviors. They also imagine; the voters that voted them at the last election would still vote for them. These people are either playing a shrewd game or live in a fool's paradise. However, the worst enemy for the continuity of JVP is not that but intolerance to other point of views of its members.

Then again, lack of real democracy within political parties in post independent Sri Lanka is well known. In the UNP for instance, its current leader has become the leader for life.
Not that earlier ones were otherwise. The point I am trying to emphasize here is no other UNP leader hanged-on to leadership after loosing elections. The UNP leader appoints most of the party central committee members directly or indirectly with his buddies. And in turn, they back him up to consolidate his power and position, right or wrong, no matter he keeps loosing elections.

Of cause, party members elect their office bearers at branch level. But they have no say in nominating the party candidate for election for their constituency. The leader makes that selection for them. Often, he parachutes a blue eyed boy from nowhere. It is a top down equality. No wonder, all party MPs has become his mouth peace. Ground level party members have to accept this absurd procedure or abandon ship. That is exactly what happened recently though. Many MPs started to point their finger at many a failings of their leader and try to instill constrains on his power. In short, they demanded real democracy within the party. When their exercise proved futile, about half its elected members crossed over to the government during last few years. Yet, the leader is hanging on and safely. This is not confined to UNP; we have seen similar situations prevailed at the SLFP as well.

Spokesmen for JVP say; unlike UNP and SLFP, theirs is a true democratic party and not ruled by a dictator. They roll up a good point. Though their leader is Somawansa Amarasinghe, the real leadership is the central committee; they say. That sounds pluralistic enough; but whether these powerful central committee members are truly elected by grassroots members of the party, or are appointed by its leader conniving with some of his cronies and get confirmed by show of hands at an AGM as in North Korea, we do not know. What is known is that all members must fall in line with the party decisions, right or wrong. That means; those who do not fit in with the majority view of the central committee will have to leave the party or face expulsion. And, very many members were expelled or have left the party on that account. D.I.G Dharmasekara and Lionel Bopage are some just to name two. So, one could argue, the JVP is also a top down democracy.

Now, there is a new rift developed in the JVP. The party propaganda secretary, Wimal Weerawansa seems to be the course or the curse. Justification depends on which angle you look at the conflict from. We have seen many ideological rifts in the JVP before, but none had been threatening to its fame as this one. From the look of it, we see that the rift nothing but the mode of operation.

Weerawansa's opening salvo has been; an extremist clique has been conspiring to expel him from the party that he loyally served for more than twenty years. JVP leadership countered it just as raucously; Weerawansa had been served with a series of serious disciplinary charges that he should answer. However, both sections were at pains not to recite the whole story at the outset.

Whether opening allegations by flushed faced Weerawansa about the conspiracy to oust him or charges made against Weerawansa by finger wagging and veins pulsing JVP leader are genuine, we do not know. For one thing we do know is; sacking him from his substantial positions in the party will not be a good omen for it because Weerawansa is widely reckoned to be the JVP public face. Many recon; his loss may well be a huge loss of public relation for JVP. Worst; Weerawansa has also proved quickly that he has much more powerful base within the party than anticipated by his detractors.

In spite of a number of threats and intimidation, ten MPs of the JVP supported Weerawansa openly, for now. If that many has come out openly without fear in the backdrop of visible violence against them, how many more MPs lurk in the dark is anybodies guess. Those MPs blame the leadership of the JVP for maneuvering strange goings-on by an unnamed clique at central committee meetings and for covering it up from them. The covert manner the central committee handled the alleged charges against Weerawansa is just one of them, they say.

The manner in which both sides accuse each other is a proof that both sides are fast reaching a point of no return. So, JVP will have to replace Weerawansa sooner than later.
Whether; Somawanse, Lalkantha, Dissanayaka or any other that aspire to be in Weerawansa's shoes has as good gift of the gab and charisma as Weerawansa has, we have to wait and see. Even so, in view of Weerawansa's affiliation with the nationalist groups, his influence on the party supporters to vote for the government and not JVP - would be immense.

The JVP has a high representation in parliament. They got it not from bullet or by the votes of their own voter base, but by manipulating SLFP followers. Jumping into the SLFP bandwagon, JVP cleverly instigated SLFP supporters to vote for them. However, after having the remote control power for four years and holding four ministries for awhile, whether the JVP still hold on to those SLFP voters that voted thirty nine MPs are very much in doubt. Ask a traditional SLFP voter that voted for JVP nominees at the last general election whether he would again vote for them if they contested from SLFP led alliance; the vast majority would give a negative answer. Then again that is a hypothetical question. The way the events are unfolding, JVP will not be a SLFP allay at the next general election or any election for that matter in the near future.

So, in the upcoming EP election, JVP will have to rely on their own voter base. How big is the reduction? They are yet to learn those numbers. But one could have a fair guess from the 1996 local government election. Now, to supplement that apparent reduction, JVP started relying more and more on the patriot card. In that, JVP ask voters to vote for them to defeat separatists and retain racial harmony and the unitary form of government. Rajapakse government is already waging an all out war with the separatists with the promise to retain unitary state. Moreover SLFP chief ministerial candidates are a Muslim and a Tamil. What more proof than that for racial harmony. What else JVP could do better than Rajapakse by being elected is not clear. Yet, JVP has colluded with UNP that has a federal agenda to fell the Rajapakse government at the national budget vote. It is an open secret that if not for Weerawansa UNP may have succeeded and with all probability all war efforts would have ceased by now.

So, Patriots would no doubt decide who the real patriot is, and drop the fake one for once and for all. One thing for sure; JVP is in for a rude shock at EP elections. They will be lucky if they got one seat. The both UNP and SLFP voters in EP know this, and Weerawansa knows this too, only JVP leadership and its cadres do not.

So, where does Weerawansa faction stand in all these? In a roundabout way, they are supporting Rajapakse, even right now. Most probably, they will contest a future general election from SLFP alliance and aim for a thorough win trough the traditional SLFP followers and moderate JVP followers. And the JVP will have a reduced voter base; neither could they snatch SLFP votes nor UNP votes. So next time, JVP would end up with less parliamentary seats than Weerawansa faction. Together all of them would not add up to a quarter of what they have now.

Perhaps, Weerawansa and his followers may well have visualized these reduced circumstances way back; otherwise, why on earth Weerawansa adamantly wanted to back Rajapakse government. And why does he want to join the nationalistic association called PNM as its secretary. It is a strategic move on his part. A cynic should have asked few good questions at the time. For one; why should the propaganda secretary of an ultra leftist political party whose core belief is Marx's ideology join an association of people whose membership are accused of being racists and jingoists and are manifestly opposed to Marx's ideology? Then there is this incongruity as well. That is; while standing tall with the nationalists and posing himself to be a proponent for their course, Weerawansa often accused the other foremost nationalist party, the JHU as racists.

Although no other prominent JVP cadres joined PNM at the time or afterwards, patriots trusted the JVP policy shift towards nationalism is for real. They were even more convinced in that belief when JVP shouldered the weight to elect Rajapakse as president.

In nineteen seventies, however, the founding leader of the JVP, Rohana Wejeweera had clearly supported the demand by Tamils for self-determination. Whether that is for an internal self determination like the ISGA that LTTE proposed, he had not elaborated. For on thing, Wejeweera had not known to have stipulated whether he stood for a 'Unitary Sri Lanka' either in his presidential campaign of 1982. In that sense it is safe to assume that Wejeweera's stand on the national issue had not been a tallying one with that of the PNM nationalists like Gunadasa Amarasekara. So, how come JVP allowed Weerawansa to join PNM let alone become secretory?

For hate filled diehard comrades of the JVP, adages by its founding leader are like Bible parables to Christians. No matter how foolish a parable is; Christians still prefer to believe every word in the Bible is the word of God. So, can we believe the apparent policy shifts by the JVP on the national issue is for real.

Never mind about the new patriotic seal; the JVP has not moved an inch away from their original revolutionary agenda. Take for instant; people all over the world had risen-up against communist governments, reject Marxist ideology, the system of central planning and embrace pluralistic societies. Yet, the JVP still professes and hang on to Marxism as the best method to govern. This is true for both Somawansa as well as Weerawansa factions. Just listen to their rhetoric.

It is doubtful JVP could ever turn out to be a traditional democratic party in a true sense. If one read through JVP Presidential candidate Nandana Gunathilake's letters to Divaina, last month; he will no doubt appreciate this point. JVP cannot tolerate dissenting views for one. And for another, they are still a dogmatic party as ever. If you want more proof, ask yourself why the JVP comrades have been commemorating their widely detested rebellion every April, year after year. Is it not to recap us that JVP aim remains the same? All JVP cadres participate in it eagerly. Therefore, it is correct to say; all JVP cadres are longing to acquire power through a revolution at a future date. This is in spite of many of them being rehabilitated after their failed insurrections in 1971 and in 1999. Rehabilitated or not, for all these people, atrocities committed in the name of their botched revolts are just and not crime. That is the irony.

Those of us who experienced terrifying chits, mayhem, murders and the havoc JVP inflicted upon our society during the dark years of 1988-90 know that revolution has the Marxists' no bounds to its lunatic nature. We would even tremble when think of it. And for Weerawansa, he may have missed out the commemoration of that failed revolt this year. But, there was nothing in his demeanor to suggest that he has opted out of the revolutionary path.

Hence, we trust, the rift that developed in the JVP is about the stratagem; the best way to bring about another revolt and not how to avoid one. Weerawansa's choice seems to join Rajapakse government and organize to grab power in a Machiavellian way; the same way they dig thirty nine MPs from Kumaratunga. Looks as if he wants to save the hare and shoot the hound first. Here; the hare being our country and the hound being the unpatriotic forces in the guise of democrats and liberators.

Both factions of JVP know Rajapakse is no fried lump - bibickama. They know; instigating a revolt while Rajapakse in power, is rather an impossible task. Clearly, Weerawansa's detractors within the JVP do not trust Rajapakse at all. So, their option seems; to fell Rajapakse somehow and install a Wckramasinghe government. They want to shoot the hare with the hound. The strategy gives rise to an impression; if unpatriotic Wckramasinghe is somehow allowed in to power, his course of action would bring about a suitable backdrop to an armed revolt very quickly.

Now that the JVP is divided to a point of no return and moreover, both are coming out with dirty linen of other, their revolution will only be a pipe dream. Hopefully, we can have a peaceful breath.

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