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Q: There are
rumours that you are planning to leave the party, is
that true?
A: No, not at all, I haven’t
had any idea like that; I have never planned to do so. A
number of organised groups are spreading various rumours
that there are upheavals inside the party, and that some
party members are planning to leave. There are no
upheavals in the party and our members are united. Just
after the party sacked our former comrade, Nandana
Gunathilaka, most thought it was the end of the JVP. I
must say here that Nandana Gunathilaka didn’t leave the
party, but the party sacked him on disciplinary grounds.
I have committed myself to serving the party and that
will not change. Our party is getting stronger.
Everybody condemning us will understand how strong we
are. That is the truth.
Q: Various people
say violence has increased after the Ceasefire Agreement
was annulled. The JVP is also responsible for this. Do
you agree?
A: No, I totally disagree with
your comment. There was violence during the Ceasefire
Agreement (CFA) and you should not forget that. The LTTE
secured several arms shipments even while the Agreement
existed; they killed local political leaders, and a
number of members of the intelligence wing. Also the
LTTE had a great opportunity to strengthen their militia
and political sections, and they were able to secure
more international connections. Those were the dangerous
aspects of the CFA. The CFA should have been cancelled
earlier, and yet I think all of Sri Lanka should fairly
be happy with this decision made by the Government to
cancel the agreement.
Q: The Japanese
peace envoy Yasushi Akashi who visited the country
recently said that the cancellation of the CFA would be
a big threat to human rights. What is your opinion?
A:
I can’t agree with Mr. Akashi’s perspective, and we are
all aware that some aspects of human rights can be
violated in a war situation to a certain extent. The
Government should be able to minimize the proportion of
human rights violations. If Mr. Akashi says so, there is
a certain percentage of minorities living in the Western
province such as in Wellawatta, and other areas without
any issues and he should think about that. On the other
hand, the Supreme Court has already made decisions to
protect human rights. Then how could Mr. Akashi say that
there would be a threat to human rights?
Q: The JVP played a
key role with regard to the budget in Parliament last
year, but now your party takes to the streets and
protests against the Government, urging it to reduce the
cost of living. It’s a contradiction, what is your
opinion?
A:
First of all you should clarify that we did not support
the Government to ratify the budget at that time. We
were against the budget the first time around, on the
first reading. The last reading of the budget was more
than ratification, and it finally fell on the UNP to try
to convert that situation into a chance to come back to
power. Why do we want to support the UNP to come back?
We’ll never support the UNP to come back to power.
It’s obvious that the Government doesn’t have a proper
economic plan, and they have already failed to control
the cost of living. That is the main reason we have got
onto the streets and have begun protesting against the
Government.
Q: Then do you
assume that the current Government has failed?
A:
Of course, the Government has failed on many fronts.
This Government should be defeated as soon as possible.
Q: The JVP strongly
blames the Government for its failure, on the other
hand, your party personally doesn’t like to work with
the UNP - so who else can govern this country?
A:
First of all you should understand that we have no
personal problems with the political leaders of the UNP.
The only problem is that we totally disagree with their
policies. We can’t work with them because their policies
totally differ from ours. Also we believe that the
current Government is on the wrong track. That’s why we
invited all intellectuals, and patriots to get together
to establish a new and broader National Front. Only a
National Front can govern this country. The JVP is
always ready to lead the new Front.
Q: What is your
opinion about the Eastern poll?
A:
This is a very wise decision made by the Government. The
Eastern people have been seeking democracy for many
years. This is a good chance to re-establish democracy
in those areas.
Q: The JVP
has already decided not to contest this time?
A:
We were unable to work in the Eastern areas due to LTTE
threats, forcing us not to contest this time.
Q: Initially
the Mahinda Chintanaya was for establishing a unitary
Sri Lanka, but the President recently said the
Indo-Lanka Treaty affords the best solution in terms of
sharing power. Does the President’s statement hint that
his deep interest is in power sharing in Sri Lanka?
A: First of all the President
should have reconsidered about making such a statement.
As it is totally wrong. The President came to power by
promising all Sri Lankans that he will protect the
unitary nature of this country; so he has no reason to
walk over that promise. The people’s will is to have a
leader who will protect the unitary state of Sri Lanka,
and the President should remember what he promised the
people of this country when he was elected the President
in 2005. I agree with the President to a certain extent,
when he says that we should advance step by step towards
a solution to the ethnic problem, but that statement
doesn’t consider power sharing proposals at any cost.
The President is conducting the war with some great
achievements, but he must re-consider his political
solution and what he plans to implement. If he opts for
a federal solution or any other solution which is
against the unitary nature of the country, then the JVP
will totally agree to that.
Q: The APRC
proposals have already been submitted to the President,
what is your view on the proposals?
A: Who cares about these useless proposals? From
the beginning the JVP totally objected to these
proposals. These are against the people’s will, and
fully against the promises which the President had given
to the people in 2005. There should be a political
solution to the ethnic problem, but this is not the
correct time to implement it. All three forces are
rescuing the Northern parts of the country from the
LTTE. A power sharing proposal as a solution to the
ethnic problem would be a great blow to the morale of
the military forces. We urge the Government not to
follow the political agenda of the international
community and instead try to declare the correct
solution at the correct time.
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