Introduction

“Wimal was adamant that the JVP should refrain from criticising the government on the cost of living or corruption, because of the military effort. But the JVP has other concerns apart from the conflict. The JVP is not a one issue party”

In the aftermath of a monumental shake up of the JVP and the ensuing controversies and conflicts, The Nation caught up with the former revolutionary and current JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, to get the party’s side of the full blown battle between former strongman Wimal Weerawansa and the country’s third largest political party.

Following are excerpts:

Q: How long has the controversy with Wimal Weerawansa been brewing within the JVP?
A: If I say the trouble started in 2005, it is not correct. Let’s say it this way, after the presidential election, there was an invitation by the President to join the government. We were ready to do so, if they agreed on a programme to regain the country. That is why we supported them in the first place. So, number one for us was to regain national security and reasonable economic growth. To achieve that, we wanted the government to agree on certain policies we drafted together. We started discussions on the programme. But the government was dragging the discussions. They were not going to come to an agreement. It was a tactic to show the people that we were not ready to work with the government. Before the official discussions, the President wrote a letter to the UNP (Karu faction), without having officially finished discussions with us, which was unacceptable. We asked the government whether the discussions were over; their reply was not clear on every clause of the draft. Finally, they told us that they will not agree to abrogate the ceasefire agreement or reduce the number of portfolios. Finally, the discussions came to an end, because we declared it to be over. After the Karu faction joined the government, we gave up and had a press conference to say that the government didn’t like us joining them. But the President says that we were not willing to join the government. This is incorrect. We didn’t join because the Central Committee (CC) decided that there was no way the JVP could work with this government. When the majority of the CC decides, it’s the stand of the party. Hence, we can’t take our own stand in front of the people. There can only be one stand for the party. We were unable to get Wimal to agree on the party’s stand.

Q: And where was he violating this stand? Within the party or in public?
A: In public, in Parliament and to the press. There can’t be two positions. We take decisions at least once in 10 days. If we take a decision, the minority will have to agree. That is democratic centralism – the policy the organisation is based on. We have 100% democracy. Members can say whatever they want – inside the party. Somebody asked me whether we have two factions within the party, I replied, “No we don’t, but we have many different ideas”. If we have 10,000 members, we will at least have 9,000 ideas.
It’s good to consult everybody. We consult grass-roots level organisations. They meet the people. This unending consultation goes on all the time.
You must understand that the JVP has a very unique and effective system. Our leaders are not selected. We are all elected. In the UNP, the leader can select more than 55% of their CC. In the SLFP too, the leader selects, so he will always have a majority. Not so in ours. In the JVP, even when one individual opposes a leader, it counts.

Q: So, Weerawansa’s position, right throughout, was that the JVP should join the government?
A: Would you believe it, if I told you that I was of the same opinion, until I was convinced otherwise, by the majority of the party, that nothing can be achieved with this government?

People should know how this party is structured. The JVP practises democracy. When we join the party, we have to abide by the party constitution. The minority will have to agree with the majority, the individual will have to agree with the whole party. Individuals cannot express individual ideas outside the party. If that was allowed, we would all be in a big soup, because people will be unable to identify the party’s true position.

In the matter of whether we should join the government, after the CC decided on what was best and the decision made final, I never spoke a word against that decision. My view at that point was different to the majority view, but that did not matter. We decided to go ahead on our own, to make the people aware of this political situation, and regain the country.
Wimal, on the other hand, refused to abide by the party decision, and by extension, by the constitution. In his speeches and news articles – both given to the press and written in the press - constantly failed to reconcile with the party position.
Anyone reading what Wimal says or writes, would think that the party is holding two different positions. As part of the JVP, we cannot speak outside of our problems with our own CC. We settle our problems, ideological or whatever, within our party – just like a family.

We cannot say that we have differences with our CC, that is not done. We try to settle our problems, ideological or whatever, within our party, like a family. We don’t take them outside and discuss them with a third party.

Q: When did the JVP decide that enough was enough with Wimal?
A: Well, just before the Budget, I tried to convince Wimal, I tried to balance him. His position was to unconditionally support the government. When the government gave orders for the people living in lodges to be evicted, the JVP was unable to get Wimal to make a special statement condemning the action.

Q: Is that why you had to ask Anura Kumara Dissanayake to make the statement regarding the lodgers?
A: Yes, I had to personally ask Anura to make the statement, after Wimal refused on that occasion. Then, when Defence Analyst Iqbal Athas’ security detail was removed, we requested Wimal to make a special statement condemning the government for that action, he refused again. Mind you, this was despite the fact that Mr. Athas was a close personal friend of Wimal’s. So, in that instance, he chose to protect the government, not only going against his own party, but also betraying his friendship. Another incident was when the Irudina press was attacked by an armed gang. When we asked him to condemn the attack, he argued saying that the Irudina was an anti-government paper that also constantly attacked the JVP. When I explained to him that it did not matter what politics the Irudina practised or, what their media ethics were, it was the attack that the JVP was disagreeing with, as being a violation of the freedom of expression. On that occasion too, he refused to speak, and again, I had to ask another member to make a statement.

You see, the JVP continues to support the government to defeat terrorism, but we are also convinced that the defeat of terrorism must go hand in hand with strengthening democracy. We are not a ‘one issue’ party. What the government had done in these instances was not democratic. But still, Wimal refused. He could not condemn the action. But everybody else’s position was different.

The JVP is not a communal party. For the last 42 years, we have never hurt a Tamil or a Muslim on the basis of ethnicity.
Wimal was adamant that the JVP should refrain from criticising the government on the cost of living or corruption, because of the military effort.

But the JVP has other concerns, apart from the conflict. The cost of living is so high. But people have patience, because they believe that something is happening on the war front. If we don’t condemn corruption here at the top level, then we cannot properly admire the sacrifices made by our forces. If we don’t condemn corruption, we are knowingly or unknowingly, toeing the line of the government, which is not correct. It is also not the position that the CC of the party wants us to take.
So, knowingly or unknowingly, Wimal was violating the decisions of the CC. I think, he knew what he was doing, because we had explained to him many times and requested him to fall in line. If members don’t agree with the CC and the party decisions, they can always leave. Wimal joined the JVP voluntarily. Nobody is tying him down to remain here.

Q: When did the matter come to a head?
A: For many months, we have had an ideological struggle within the CC. This could not go on like this. It came to a climax, and we had to tackle it. I, myself, charged him at a CC meeting on February 26, saying that the way he had been conducting himself was wrong. The exact words I used were, ‘ange indagena kana kanawa’ (backstabbing). I said that we cannot go on like this and that, we will have to take a decision. I said that there was clearly a faction here.

Q: Did other people speak up at that time?
A: Yes, they didn’t agree with me 100%. There were differences and agreements. Everybody within the CC identified that there was a problem. I presented my proposals, but of course, we did not have enough time to complete the session. So, he requested to complete it at the next CC meeting on March 1. On that day too, we couldn’t finish it. Then the next was on March 7, and he did not attend. We did not discuss his problem that day. Then the CC wanted the Politburo to meet. The Politburo met on March 11 and decided to appoint three members to meet him separately, General Secretary Tilvin Silva, comrade Lalkantha and comrade Wijesinghe. They met him and the Politburo met again on March 17. He knew all these dates and yet failed to attend. The Politburo was, however, instructed to convey all decisions and meeting dates to Wimal. So, there is no way he can say he does not know what went on.

Q: Did he accept the charges?
A: He did not accept most of the charges, but there were those that he did. I cannot tell you what these were, because it is all confidential at the moment. But, if the party is compelled to divulge all this, by Wimal’s own actions, we will do so. I will propose to the CC that we should divulge everything regarding him and his family. These are not personal problems. If one politician is in cahoots with another, we have the right to expose that.

Q: Are there corruption charges against Wimal Weerawansa?
A: I will come out with that later. The CC will have to make a decision after the investigation. Until then, I can’t say what the outcome would be.
All I can say is that there are many accusations. The first is, failing to toe the party line. These are internal party matters. But, when he says that there is a part in this party that is working with the UNP, the CIA, the imperialists – these are serious allegations. We can’t keep quiet. Still, we haven’t taken a decision. Wimal is still Propaganda Secretary, he is still the leader of the JVP Parliamentary group. We haven’t taken anything away from him. He says that he has been expelled from the party. No. If it were so, do you think that the JVP will allow him to remain Parliamentary group leader?

Q: Have the 10 rebels that sided with Weerawansa, left the party?
A: They have not left the party. They say they are going to act as an independent group. That itself says that that they are not part of the JVP, because creating factions within the party is strictly forbidden. What I am going to do at the CC is to investigate how a faction has been formed and who has done it.

Q: Does the JVP constitution clearly spell out punishments for breakaway groups or, like in the UNP, are dissidents a grey area within the party constitution?
A: Punishments are very clearly defined. You can’t operate beyond the decisions of the CC. This is not the first time there have been factions within the party. Every single time, the factions have been defeated and the party has always won. No one has stopped us so far and no one will. Wimal and all the rebels need to remember that nobody in the JVP is above the constitution of the party.

Q: How long will the CC take to determine the Weerawansa matter once and for all?
A: We are now investigating who is behind the rebellion, both Wimal and the 10 MPs. Nobody can hide forever. As they say in Sinhala, ‘hangi hangi wes maru karanna puluwan, eth natanna wenne eliye’ – or, all conspiracies must be enacted in the open, eventually. We have information that there are some chief ministers, government ministers and provincial councilors involved in the rebellion. We will find out if it has government backing. We have information that Wimal had meetings with government members. There is a lot of information. We don’t believe it all but, Wimal will have to come and explain these matters to the CC.
For the moment, our doors are open. He can still come to the CC, he can still speak for himself. It could take weeks or months. We are not impatient. We will let the inquiry take its course.

Q: Do you foresee Mr. Weerawansa joining the government?
A: The best thing would be if he does that. He would then be seen for what he is, when he is on the government platform. And mark my words, one day, he will be seen on a UNP platform. This is more than likely – we will come out with the reasons for our belief, later, if he compels us to. Sooner or later, he will find it impossible to hide the fact that he is part of the government. And then, he will lose any following he might have had. I assure you, therefore, that he will not join the government any time soon. He will give it a few months; he may wait till the next general election. It won’t be immediate.