JVP coming to consciousness after the horse bolted from the stable

(March 10, Colombo - Lanka Polity) At the right end of the history of People's Liberation Front's (JVP's) golden era of parliamentary politics, the leftist nationalist party has eventually decided to vote against the draconian emergency regulations.

Since 2004, and even since long before that, the JVP parliamentarians did not vote against the emergency regulations. Until recent times, they just abstained voting lacking guts to vote against. The draconian emergency regulations grant sweeping powers to the police and security forces of Sri Lanka to arrest and detain people that rise against the system. The victims were Tamils first but now the JVP is also paying heavily. This year, the government sealed a newspaper office of the JVP and detained an editor. After all the JVP is a movement against the present system although they have their own limitations what they call as their uniqueness.

Until the demise of the Tamil rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), JVP's political strategy was tuned to be against the Tigers on an ethnic chauvinist basis that was forwarded to masses in the guise of pseudo-Leninism. Ever since the military annihilation of the Tiger movement by the government, the JVP has lost balance or imbalance rather. 

However, the party is shifting towards a policy change and that should be commended. JVP was always swaying like a pendulum between left and right. After been in ultra right for many years, it is the turn to be in left after April 08 elections. 

Comrades, welcome to reality!

Sri Lanka government in need of some kind of tension to maintain draconian laws

(March 03, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reconvened the parliament. Last month he dissolved the parliament and called for elections. The general election is scheduled to be held on April 08.

The President has used his executive powers to extend the state of emergency for a period of one month subjected to the approval of the parliament within 10 days. The aim of reconvening the parliament is approving the extension of emergency.

Sri Lanka is under state of emergency since decades due to the war with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The emergency regulations provide sweeping authorities to police and security forces to interfere in the rights of the citizens.

The government has decided to maintain the emergency regulations further covering to the argument that the Tamil Tiger rebels that were defeated militarily last year might attempt a comeback if the security grip was loosened.

The Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka recently said that several suicide cadres of the Tamil Tiger organization are in Colombo. Police arrested a Tiger financial affairs activist this week.

Peace that prevails after May 18, the day the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran was killed, seems uncomfortable to the government. The government needs some kind of tension to rationalize the maintaining of draconian laws such as emergency regulations and Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Government needs these draconian laws to suppress unrest. Thousands of Tamil youth are still in custody without urgent legal action thanks to these laws.