How JVP ruined the family lives of Anjan Umma, Sunil Handunnetti and Wimal Weerawansa

Anjan Umma MP was lost for few days. Looks like Wimal Weerawansa has found her. According to Daily Mirror, she is about to join the newly formed Weerawansa’s Jathika Nidahas Peramuna or NFF. (Unlike ‘godayatik’ JVP which still abbreviates its Sinhala name, post modernistic Weerawansa seems to like the English abbreviations NFF rather than ‘JNP’)

Umma’s episode tells another filthy aspect about the political style of JVP - how this political party, which boast about its purity shamelessly intervenes to the family lives of its own people.

Umma’s husband is still an ardent JVPer. When she went hiding, even her husband did not know where she was. Looks like she has sacrificed her family for the party – that too a party that believes in the Sinhalese Buddhist supremacy and undermines her own Muslim identity. Is that a worthy sacrifice? Will her family approves that. Only time will tell. The question is not that. The question is should a political mater like this should split a family. Her husband goes on media to critisise her act – probably on the instructions of JVP. Will their marriage last after today’s developments?

This with the earlier Handunnetti and Weerawansa’s suicide attempt episodes are examples of JVP’s control over the personal lives of its members. The party has taken the right of their own men to lead normal lives.

The woman who lives with Handunnetti and identifies herself as his wife was neither his love not his choice. That was a selection of the party. Handunnetti was force to marry and live with her. She was the in-house spy. When Handunnetti made plans to leave party and migrate she promptly betrayed her ‘husband’ to the superiors.

When she found the suicide note of her husband, Wimal Weerawansa, Shirsha Udayanthi (Shashi) Weerawansa too did a similar thing. She faxed it to party office, so that party could send five of its cadre to ‘protect’ him. Wimal Weerawansa trying to commit suicide is no surprise. He is somebody who wants to achieve beyond his own capacity. He is also a coward, contrary to the public image. When such an individual wants to take life (We still do not know whether he physically attempted suicide, probably yes) the first thing a wife should have done is to take him to a psychiatrist. Why fax suicide note to party office? Probably because her job too was to spy Weerawansa. If Shashi Weerawansa too is still an ardent JVP member Wimal is in a sure fix. Like Anjan Umma, he too has to select between the family and party.

Why, unlike any other political party, controls the personal lives of their people? Is this what Wijeweera sahodaraya preached? Or is that something they have learnt from their communist masters in China? Whatever it is, we can have only sympathy for the poor JVPers. Surely these three cannot be the only victims of this strange practice.

“අනේ දෙවියනේ මට වුනු වියෝයා” Can someone give a ’sooppuva’ to crybaby Wimal Weerawansa?

Wimal Weerawansa ‘andana baba’ is in all tears now because his beloved party chased him off.

This is how Lankadeepa cartoonist Dasa Hapuvalanage saw it.

 

Perhaps Lakbima cartoonist Anjana Indrajit was more eloquent.

 

 

Split in JVP’s three-wheeler future

The inevitable happened. A major split in JVP imminent in near future.

To the students of Sri Lankan politics, this comes as no surprise. The surprise is why it not happened so far.

If a list of Sri Lankan political parties that depends least on principles were made JVP comes on top. Even its cousin three-wheelers LSSP and CP, though spineless and hapless, maintain some sort of principles. Not the JVP. All the support to JVP comes from the frustrated youth, for some reason cannot find a place in other political streams. Their blind support and acceptance of brainwashing done on them unquestioned has been the strength JVP always had.

Dilemma faced by JVP on maintaining multiple sets of principles has been observed even by some of their comrades of yesteryear, notably Victor Ivan and Kelly Senanayake.

Is JVP still a Marxist party? Nobody is sure. Effigies of Marx, Lenin and Engels still escort the decorative May Day rallies of JVP, but surely not many present day JVPers (or ‘jeppas’ as known at universities) might not even be able to name them. This, as well as the use of blod red coloured flags is purely for earning the support of similar socialist groups in international circles. That is how JVP gets money. Not many are aware that JVP is the largest NGO in Sri Lanka to sustain on foreign capital.

Is JVP a nationalist party? They like to imply so but we do not see the sheer commitment by JHU.  All the ‘nationalism’ of JVP (if there is  such thing) seems to come from Desha Hithaishees, among whom the propaganda sectary of JVP is a prominent figure. Apart from Weerawansa, nobody in JVP takes this ‘nationalist’ angle. The extremist Sinhalese camp has abandoned JVP long before. This niche vote would go to SLFP+JHU alliance in the next election, not to JVP.

Is JVP a socialist party? Hardly. How socialist one can be when the leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with dirty capitalist of the land? This was one issue echoed at the JVP polity bureau recently when Sunil Handunnetti challenged revealing his colleague Weerawansa’s links with the top businessmen. According to newspaper reports the issue led to Handunnetti’s house arrest by JVP and still remain unresolved.

Nandana Gunatilake, a former polity bureau member too continues his attack on JVP leadership.  Two weeks back he wrote one full page article in Sunday Divaina criticising JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. The pressure is accumulating there too.

The last straw anyway comes from Lalkantha, the unionist. He correctly identifies Pillayan as a threat in Eastern provincial pools. It is common sense that Pillayan+SLFP alliance will eat bulk of the JVP votes and JVP will end up in an embarrassing position, unless that could be prevents. Lalkantha’s attempt is to minimize that damage. Two logical reasons justify his stance. One cannot run with hare and hunt with dogs simultaneously. So if JVP to were contest independently, it has to take a different stand from that of Pillayan+SLFP alliance. The other reason relates to a more particle issue. You cannot campaign against armed rivals. So Lalkantha, just like any rational individual sees the need to disarm Pilliyan before the elections. Somawansa Amerasinghe, party leader seems to be in agreement. That was what he said publicly.

Funny thing is the impact of this on JVP Propaganda Secretary’s position. In their black and white world, Desha Hithaishees recognize anybody who opposes LTTE as their ally. They do not realize what bigger pain Pillayan can be. Neither they realize the danger in conducting elections when one contesting party is armed and others are not. All they see is their short term gain. So Weerawansa does not want to disarm Pillayan – opposing the view of his own party leader and comrade. He recently questioned the integrity of Somawansa and Lalkantha. This means even Weerawansa does no more trust his party leaderrship and colleagues.

Fractioning has been a common phenomenon among Sri Lankan left parties. That is how the old left segregated itself faster than amoebas and finally ended up as three wheelers. With their vote banks eaten up by the SLFP, and their inability to brainwash youth in this age of Internet, as they have done in past is drastically decreasing the numbers for JVP. The presence of young students, some of the obviously children of JVP leaders ay Youth Council Hall Maharagama few weeks back shows their weakness in attracting crowds anymore. The splits will ensure further reduction and the day we see JVP been subdued to another three wheeler party like LSSP and CP is not far. Be optimistic.