Bid to avoid sanctions for joining UPFA rebel May Day rally:

SLFP rebels in peace talks with party bosses

By Rasika Jayakody and Uditha Kumarasinghe

In a bid to stave off party disciplinary action for attending the rebel UPFA break-away May Day rally, the dissident SLFP parliamentarians in the UPFA rebel group have begun talks with senior SLFP leaders to work out an “amicable settlement”. Party seniors told the Sunday Observer yesterday that overtures had been made by the rebels and that discussions had begun through informal channels.

These sources disclosed that in the event of a resolution being moved in the next SLFP Central Committee to take punitive action against those SLFP MPs who participated in the Kirulapone May Day rally, measures would first be taken against only those who had a previous record of rebellious actions against the party leadership. The ongoing discussions between the rebels and the hierarchy will decide the process, they said. A further proposal to heal the rift is a proposal to vest party responsibilities in some dissident SLFP MPs currently in the UPFA rebel group.

Several SLFP MPs of the UPFA rebel group, which calls itself the ‘Joint Opposition’, had last week reportedly contacted former SLFP General Secretary Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala and, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera, and expressed willingness to cooperate with the party leadership.

Party insiders claim that the overtures by the rebels were prompted by the perceived success of the SLFP’s official May Day rally in Galle.

The SLFP rebels had asked the three seniors to persuade the party hierarchy to hold back impending disciplinary action against the SLFP MPs who had joined the UPFA rebels’ May Day rally in Kirulapona which was attended by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Nearly 40 SLFP MPs joined the Kirulapona May Day rally while the main bulk of the SLFP Parliamentary group attended the SLFP’s May Day event in Galle.

When contacted by the Sunday Observer, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera admitted that discussions were underway “at a personal level” to arrive at an “amicable settlement”, in a clear move to avoid actual disciplinary action that could disrupt party unity. “I can confirm that discussions are going on. But, they are not official discussions. I don’t wish to disclose the names of the dissident MPs who negotiated with me as it would hamper the progress of our discussions. I personally believe the success of the SLFP’s May Day rally in Galle prompted them to initiate a dialogue with the party” Amaraweera said. “We don’t need to chase anyone away. The Party has to be strengthened. If they agree to cooperate with the party leadership, we don’t have to pursue disciplinary action,” he added.

“They urged the party to desist from pursuing disciplinary action against MPs who attended the Kirulapona rally. But they had no objections to disciplinary action against party dissidents on other allegations,” a senior SLFP Parliamentarian told the Sunday Observer. “It is important to note that the SLFP will not compromise on its position. President Sirisena will remain the party leader and others have to accept his leadership. There will be no chance for former President Rajapaksa to regain party leadership. He can contribute to the party as a Patron,” the Parliamentarian said.

In addition, SLFP seniors are also to propose to the party hierarchy that the ‘Joint Opposition’ MPs should be asked to refrain from going behind former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and commit themselves to take forward the SLFP as a unified party.