THE ALLIANCE UNDER THREAT
The SLFP - JVP MoU that was signed last week has come under much criticism from the non national forces as well as from some others. There are some Sinhalas who would prefer the SLFP to sign a MoU with the LTTE than with the JVP. These elements could be found among the Marxists (some of them would object to being referred to as Sinhalas) as well as the "right wing" Liberals. The "international community", which is really the USA- UK led Protestant and Anglican west, and even India appear to be against the SLFP -JVP alliance. They prefer, to different extents, an "alliance" between the UNP and the SLFP for various reasons. However, the majority of the Sinhalas have welcomed the SLFP - JVP alliance though they do not have an "independent" media to air their views.
It was clear from the very beginning that Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga was not in favour of the alliance. She who follows the politics of the Mahajana Party and not of the SLFP could not have thought of an alliance with the JVP. It is not feasible for the Mahajana Party, the LSSP or the CP to come into an alliance with the JVP in the present context. However, Ms. Kumaratunga was forced by circumstances to talk to the JVP, as the "leader" of the SLFP. The SLFP and the JVP being parties of the children of fifty six gravitated towards a nationalist line in spite of "the leader" of the SLFP and the Marxist rhetoric of some of the cadre members of the JVP. It was only a matter of time before the two parties entered into an agreement with each other. However, there was opposition from the quarters mentioned above as well as from some influential persons such as Ms. Sunethra Bandaranaike, and Ms. Kumaratunga dragged her feet from the very beginning. As we mentioned last week, ambassadors of the most powerful countries met with leaders of the SLFP to advice the latter against any alliance with the JVP. What these opponents of an SLFP - JVP alliance wanted was an agreement or a MoU between the SLFP and the UNP. The Jbiz people in the big companies were the latest to join the campaign for a MoU between the latter two parties.
Mano - Malik talks began while the SLFP was negotiating with the JVP due to pressure from the non national forces operating in Sri Lanka. The SLFP is under pressure from India to continue with the talks with the UNP. The Indian policy on Sri Lanka is determined by the interests of India in the region and not by of any love for the Sinhalas, whose culture, many people think is closely linked with that of India. The RAW more than any other organisation is influential in determining the Indian policy on Sri Lanka and meetings with the Indian High Commissioner by some of the Sinhala organizations would not have been very fruitful. As far as India is concerned the LTTE at present is a threat to them. They cannot be ignorant of the fact that the Protestant west supports the LTTE and that the latter is guided by Christian culture and not by Hindu culture. They do not want any growth in the LTTE influence not only in Sri Lankan politics but in South Indian politics as well. Thus they would oppose any move that they think would help the LTTE. The decisions of India are mainly governed by that fact.
It appears that India seems to think that an alliance between the SLFP and the JVP would help the LTTE. As the JVP and the SLFP have their mass support mainly in the Sinhala Buddhist electorate the parties have to incorporate at some stage the views of the Sinhala Buddhists. One would say in 1994 the SLFP led PA won the elections without incorporating these views. It was not the case. The Sinhala Buddhists in general did not know at that time the SLFP of Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga was not the same as that of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The "international community", the high command of the Church, the NGOs, the Tamil racists backed her together with the traditional SLFP supporters for different reasons. Around 1998 - 99 period the non national forces realised that the SLFP would not allow Ms. Kumaratunga to carry out their policies and they changed their allegiances to the UNP. After 2000 the JVP had to come forward to support the SLFP in the form a "probationary government" and a new political path was opened for both the SLFP and the UNP.
The ex, retired, neo Marxists and NGO "intellectuals" and all other non national elements, though not many, hold influential positions in media and they try to manipulate the public opinion through their various gimmicks. What they write in their columns and what they discuss in the clubs is not the public opinion in the country. Even at the general elections held in 2001 the majority of the Sinhala Buddhists voted for the PA and the JVP. Though the "leader" of the SLFP imported to the country around 1992 is following the policies of the Mahajana Party, majority of the SLFP supporters, with the JVP, would not allow the leader to convert the SLFP to a Mahajana Party. Since 1994, the Church, the NGOs and most of the other non national forces have not voted for the PA and even if the CP and the LSSP were to leave the PA, it would not be felt by the SLFP as the number of votes that the LSSP and the CP could attract is not very much, to say the least. On the other hand the JVP has a very much bigger support in the rural as well as the urban areas and with the alliance in a position to win the "bonus seats" in many districts the SLFP - JVP alliance has a much better chance of winning the next general elections.
However, there is a genuine fear that, if an election were to be held in the next few months the LTTE cadres would come to the parliament as members of other Tamil parties. Those who are concerned of this possibility claim that the entire northern and the eastern provinces would go to the LTTE. However, it would not be the case as the eastern province is not dominated by the LTTE. Though a few LTTE terrorists could be returned from the northern province there would be members elected from SLFP - JVP - MEP alliance, SLMM (both factions) and other Tamil parties from the eastern province. It is true that some members belonging to the other Tamil parties would be agents of the LTTE, but then even at present it is the case. On the other hand whether the elections are held in two months or in two years there is a possibility of LTTE terrorists being elected as MPs. Unless India has a strategy to wipe out the LTTE within two or three years the postponing of elections would not help anybody other than the UNP, which is acting under instructions from the western Protestant countries.
In any event it is clear that even the nominal independence that the Anglicised upper class won in 1948 is not enjoyed by them today. They have no alternative but to dance to the tune of western music, occasionally changing step to suit Ragadhari music. The leadership of the UNP as well as the "leader" of the SLFP are under pressure from every Dick,Harry and Ashok. Under these circumstances, the signing of the MoU between the SLFP and the JVP was a victory of the Sinhala people. However, the alliance between the SLFP and the JVP is under threat and the possibility of the "leader" of the SLFP abandoning it under pressure, in favour of an understanding between the UNP and the SLFP, cannot be ruled out. Soon after the signing of the MoU between the SLFP and the JVP, the President attended a cabinet meeting after a long time indicating what instructions she has got from the various Viceroys that rule Sri Lanka.
There are some "political scientists" and so called analysts who claim that either there is nothing in the MoU between the SLFP and the JVP or that it is a "pre modernist" document. Perhaps they think that the MoU has not taken into consideration the "modern" trends and situation where there are no two super powers with the world becoming unipolar. They also tell us in their wisdom that a policy of "Jathika Arthikaya", whatever that may mean, cannot be implemented. It is true that there are no theories and even concepts worked out as far as a "Jathika Arthikaya" is concerned and it remains only a vague idea. It is not different from the idea of "Jathika Chinthanaya" in eighty six, when it was stated only as an idea by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera. There were no concepts not to mention theories (what are known as "nyaya" in Sinhala though the correct word is "pravada") but in the following years "chinthanaya" emerged to be a concept that could be used not only in epistemology but in diverse fields such as politics, literature and history. It is not difficult to work out theories in a "Jathika Arthikaya" but what is interesting is the attitude of the "analysts" and others who are always governed by the adage "Sinhalaya modaya".
The MoU between the SLFP and the JVP has an implicit agenda that goes beyond the words in the document. Though there may be some in the SLFP who think of the MoU in terms of an electoral pact to defeat the UNP (how many times the "left" has defeated the UNP) it should not be considered as such. The Sinhala masses want freedom from the western Christian cultural, political and economic colonialism. The west understands it intuitively, and not through their so called theories in political "science", though the pundits in Sri Lanka who know only the bankrupt theories but posses no intuition (they give tuition as they have no intuition) having not based in either the western or the Sinhala culture, have failed to come to terms with the situation.
The "analysts" vomit their theories that they have learnt from their masters and mistresses to remind the Sinhala masses that 2004 is different from 1956 and now it is not possible to gain any kind of freedom as there is no Soviet Russia. Though Soviet Russia may have inspired the CP leaders and some other intellectuals, even among the Sinhalas, who were given tickets to visit that country, the Sinhala masses remained uninspired. In any event does this theory imply that as there is no Soviet Russia now there is no possibility whatsoever for the countries in Asia and Africa, not to mention South America, to get rid of western Christian colonialism. We are told that we live in a postmodern, sometimes a post capitalist, world and that those of us who want to be free from colonialism do not understand the reality. This implies that the "reality" is that we have to live the way the westerners tell us without even making a murmur. The pundits do not understand the culture bias of the theories and concepts, and that even concepts such as "reality" and "objectivity" are neither "real" nor "objective". The westerners through their theories have managed to convince the pundits that all that we have to do is to accept the present situation and be passive observers. The pundits and the analysts are nothing but the agents of western Christian cultural colonialism and the "Jathika Chinthanaya" has theories to identify them as such.
The MoU between the SLFP and the JVP is not the ideal document that they could have thought of. However, irrespective of what is stated there it is within the agenda of the down trodden Sinhala masses, especially the Sinhala Buddhists. It will come under attack from various quarters and even the "leader" of the SLFP could back out under pressure from the Protestant west. However, the Sinhala masses in spite of the "intellectuals" want the children of fifty six to come together to free them from the western Christian colonialism.
Professor Nalin de Silva
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