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| Sunday, 22 February 2004 |
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JVP in Government BRIEF by Lalith Edrisinha Over forty years ago the Left in then Ceylon had to take a firm decision on whether it was to continue to function on the two planes of parliamentarism and doctrinaire revolutionism. LSSP ideologue Hector Abhaywardhana argued that the split attitude that resulted from it makes effective action on either plane impossible. Hector pointed out then in 1962 that the stage had been reached when it was no longer possible to postpone a decision about it. Before long and after much debate, soul searching and even heartburn the revolutionary path advocated hitherto by the Left was discounted. It has been argued that the void created then in the radical Left movement came to be occupied by the mainly disgruntled university educated unemployed youth whose outfit in later years, came to be known as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) that initially launched the first ever abortive anti-systemic pustch that challenged the authority of the State by resort to armed rebellion in 1971. The JVP has come a long way since those days of bloody revolution. It has shown remarkable resilience to withstand successive attempts at its decimation and has today emerged as the dominant force in the Left electorally, having edged out the traditional Left parties that are today reduced to a mere single seat in Parliament and that too at times on the National List. Whatever the reasons for that impasse the JVP from a single seat in the Parliament of 1994 increased its tally progressively to 10 in 2000 and 16 in 2001. At this Election the JVP is making a bid to be in Government along with other constituent parties of the People's Alliance and others of which the SLFP remains the dominant partner. The JVP is no novice at governance. In the regions, in Provincial Council and Pradeshiya Sabhas the JVP has set standards and has disbursed funds that have been pooled from salaries and emoluments of party representatives in local councils and parliament to maintain public utility services for the benefit of the people and the common good. These may be scoffed at, frowned upon or looked at derisively as populist measures but the public have been alerted to this new phenomenon of people's representatives making genuine sacrifices forsaking those perks and privileges that go with political office. This has injected a new enthusiasm among the electors who were becoming apathetic to the whole electoral system and the frequent calls for polls that do not seem to do the country any good but merely opening new theatres for the traditional bickering between the major parties that have vied for the plums of office in politics. People's expectations of the JVP in Government is to fulfil the role of watchdog to eliminate waste and corruption the two main attributes of the downturn in the economy, development and even progress in the prosecution of war and peace. There are great expectations then that the JVP will inject a new sense of urgency and purpose in governance. There are fears too. For example, the JVP track record of its impatience and immaturity when it paid scant respect to due process in meting out what it considered to be justice for social ills when it functioned from underground as successive governments invoked the State services to protect them as duly elected governments. Having taken the parliamentary road the JVP today has committed itself to democratic norms of which tolerance of dissent is a priority. The business community has been given an opportunity to allay their fears. The JVP is committed to accord the private sector its due place in developing the economy. So one by one the JVP propaganda machine has dispelled those bogeys that were in the public mind. Of course the JVP will be in coalition government which entails constraints given the multiplicity of situations and eventualities that may arise. So while keeping everyone else on their toes the JVP in turn will have to toe the line. The public are sure going to enjoy this new scenario and are looking forward to benefit from each party and individual striving to maintain those standards of probity and integrity that are expected of those who take to public life. A future UPFA government has all the ingredients of national tradition and pride that are so important to instill a sense of identification between government and people especially at a time when UNF policies both economic and political appear to have endangered the sovereignty and integrity of the country. |
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