JVP a reformed Marxist Party: Somawansa

30 September 2011 08:21 am

Amarasinghe described the JVP as a reformed Marxist Party, which stood for a united, multiethnic, multi-lingual Sri Lanka, with equality for all.  He emphasised that they were not a nationalist party and believed strongly in multiparty democracy.  The JVP was even in favour of a Tamil
prime minister.  The JVP also believed in devolving power as far as possible, including allowing villages to decide on the allocation of funds.  On election violence, Amarasinghe claimed that although JVP members were forceful at demonstrations, they were very disciplined and avoided violence.  He asserted that the JVP had never engaged in political violence during peacetime. 

Regarding JVP support for Sarath Fonseka's presidential campaign, Amarasinghe cited several reasons:

1) He was the only person who could defeat President Rajapaksa;

2) The JVP had never supported the current government

3) Fonseka was willing to eliminate the executive powers of the president

4) His focus was on education and health issues, not the military

5) He was well-respected by the people

6) He was very direct

7) He had a broad vision for the future of Sri Lanka

Amarasinghe went on to add that Fonseka was marginalised after the military defeat of the LTTE because he was in favour of reconciling with former LTTE members.  This convinced the JVP that Fonseka was truly committed to uniting the nation.

On the JVP's position on the war-crimes issue, Amarasinghe said there were human-rights violations in every war.  In the last year of the Sri Lankan war, however, there were, in fact, far fewer human-rights violations then ever before. In terms of moving forward, he favoured the idea of a "truth and reconciliation commission," not a war-crimes trial.  He added that the JVP had issued a statement in favour of this approach, which was provided to the Ambassador. (Source: WikiLeaks)