|
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka marks
its 64th anniversary this week. Considering the JVP to
be one of the new left parties, what are your views on
the old left parties?
From the beginning they did not have a political
programme to come to power in this country. Even though
they had a very good opportunity and made sacrifices.
When they led the 1953 hartal it was one of the greatest
agitations in the country, but later it was betrayed by
the leaders of the left themselves. So the advantage of
this was taken by the SLFP. In the 1960s, the left was a
formidable force but both the SLFP and the UNP tackled
them. When the LSSP accepted ministerial posts – (two
cabinet and one junior ministerial post), that was the
beginning of the end of the left movement. Finally the
CP and other parties followed the LSSP.
The leaders of the old left such as
Dr.N.M.Perera are idolised even today, at least in some
quarters. Are you saying they were never really
committed to the cause of the masses?
The problem was that they started their movement in
other countries such as Britain, so their teachers were
Englishmen. Their movement was born in these countries.
And when they came here, the leaders of the left
movement did not adapt themselves to local conditions.
They have been talking and fighting for the rights of
the down-trodden people of the country at the same time
they lost the opportunity to understand the common man
of this country, understand the culture of this country.
They were a set of people who were a little bit alien to
our culture. The difference between the JVP and the old
left is that it has a different programme. The old left
lost its position in the political arena and the JVP
filled the void created by the old left. Where are they
(the old left parties) today? If not for the SLFP they
have no place. They are not strong enough to stand on
their own feet.
Was their downfall because they linked up
with the bigger parties?
They did not have a political programme to come to power
in this country and implement the programme for
uplifting of the people. That is what paved the way for
the SLFP. They were the leading party in the opposition.
If they were smart enough, if they had confidence in the
people, they would have become the rulers of this
country. The left movement should have been in power in
this country by 1956 because the crisis was so acute and
the conditions were so favourable for that movement to
gain popularity among the people.
Was it divisions between the left parties
that made them miss the chance?
Yes there were some divisions. The two main left parties
were fighting each other. They regarded each other as
the enemy.
The JVP also aligned with one of the
bigger parties – the SLFP. So what’s the difference
between the JVP and the old left?
Joining the SLFP was the beginning of the end for the
old left because they betrayed the down trodden people
of this country. They shouldn’t have done that. But in
our case, no one could dilute our programme. We have not
betrayed our honesty, our dedication. What happened to
them? They were very honest leaders but their followers
became stooges under them. When our leaders became
ministers they were honest. No one dared to do something
wrong. There were no allegations at all. There were no
complains at all that to get a contract the contractors
had to bribe our ministers. That is the achievement. The
old left did not try to safeguard their identity. They
let down the movement and the people who voted for the
left parties. Even today there are so many people who
have lost confidence in the left movement because of
their actions. This has caused difficulties for us too.
What then is the standing of the left
movement in the country ?
There was a time there was a crisis of identity for the
left movement both internationally and locally. We had
to undergo difficult times after 1971 till 1976 and
again from 1983 to 1994. Despite all the trouble, we
changed ourselves. We have reformed ourselves that is
why we are existanting today. The ability to change that
is what the old left lacked. They did not understand the
changing situation in the country and once they started
something they became worse than the conservatives. The
left movement became more conservative than the
conservative party but it cannot be that way. We have
been changing with the situation according to the needs
of the people without losing the dedication to the
country and our commitment to the people. That is why we
did not fail, we will not fail.
Is the JVP then the only left party now,
in your estimation?
I don't want to let down other parties but the JVP is a
national party today. We have organisers everywhere. We
always wanted to become a national political party and
fortunately, there is no ambiguity for the people about
the left parties today. I don't think all of the old
left parties can together muster 50,000 votes.
Can the JVP break into the support bases
of the two main parties?
Yes. First of all the political parties should have
enough courage to face challenges. Now the people are
fed up of both the UNP and the SLFP. We have by practice
proved that the JVP can rebuild this country. People
have been admiring our work of the past 14 years,
particularly because we have reformed ourselves a lot
since 1994. People who read papers and analyse what is
happening know we are interested in finding solutions to
the crisis in country. We have been working for the
rights of the working classes but now we are not only
fighting for the working people but also for the rights
of the industrialists.
Many people
from the chamber of commerce, the apparel industry come
to us to discuss their problems. That's the sort of
radical change we need. They have understood that we are
not wreckers. They say they have many problems and want
our assistance to voice their concerns today in
parliament, tomorrow as a government. We are not
anti-business, only anti-corruption. We are in the
process of explaining to trade unions that if the
industrial sector flourishes, they too will benefit from
it. |
Interview
