People's Alliance rule and JVP gains

by W.T.A. Leslie FERNANDO

Chandrika Kumaratunga	Ranil Wickremasinghe	Gamini Dissanayake	Nihal Galappaththi
Srima Dissanayake	K. Balapatabandi	Rauf Hakeem	A.J. Ranasinghe
Susil Moonesinghe	Sarath Amunugama	Brig. Lucky Algama

Soon after the PA formed a government it took steps to hold peace talks with the LTTE. For this purpose a delegation of the government led by Kusumsiri Balapatabendi, the Secretary to the President went to Jaffna. As an encouragement to peace talks, several sanctions were removed and some items essential to the daily life were allowed to be taken to the North. While a background conducive to peace was taking shape, the term of President D.B. Wijetunga came to an end, and nominations to elect a new President was called for September 7, 1994.

Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Prime Minister on behalf of the PA, Gamini Dissanayake for the UNP and Nihal Galappaththi of the JVP as the nominee of the Progressive Front, Harischandra Wijayatunga of the Maha Sammatha Bhumiputhra Party, A.J. Ranasinghe and Hudson Samarasinghe as independents handed over their nominations.

Peace talks

At the beginning of the campaign Mrs. Kumaratunga was in the forefront. The presidential election was being held few months after she led the PA to victory at the general election and she was at the height of her popularity. As she had taken steps to hold peace talks, she had won the confidence of the minorities.

As the Workers' Congress too had joined the PA government her position was strong in the plantation sector. She was supported by the national press, other alternative journals and the NGOs.

While the Presidential campaign was on, Mrs. Kumaratunga gave an assurance that if she would come into power she would abolish the Executive Presidency before July 15, 1995. On this undertaking Nihal Galappaththi of the Progressive Front withdrew from the contest in her favour.

Nevertheless, the UNP candidate Gamini Dissanayake began to pick up gradually. He was popular among the people as the architect of the Accelerated Mahaweli Scheme.

His manifesto contained a strong devolution of power not found in the 1994 general election manifesto of the UNP. He was also a clever organiser and posed a challenge to Mrs. Kumaratunga.

On the other hand Gamini Dissanayake was an arch enemy of the LTTE. He was alleged to have been involved in setting fire to the Jaffna Library in 1981. He was also a sponsor of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord and was instrumental in getting the IPKF to Sri Lanka. Perhaps, due to these he was assassinated by the LTTE in the Thotalanga bomb blast on October 24, 1994.

After the death of Dissanayake, his wife Srima Dissanayake was substituted as the UNP candidate. She was not seen as a powerful candidate as her husband and her campaign too was lukewarm. At the end Mrs. Kumaratunga of the PA recorded a grand victory polling 62.1% of the total votes polled. Her main opponent Mrs. Srima Dissanayake of the UNP could get only 35.9% of the votes.

The peace talks between the government and the LTTE got delayed because of the death of Gamini Dissanayake and was initiated later. However, it was clear from the beginning that the LTTE was not interested to proceed with discussions but intended to sabotage it. At first the LTTE agreed for talks without any conditions but later on began to throwing various conditions. Finally the peace talks broke down on April 19, 1995.

Soon the LTTE began to attack the government Forces.

The government too waged an offensive against the LTTE in July 1995. The government Forces were able to surround Jaffna in the Operation 'Riviresa' and was able to bring down the LTTE flag and raise the national flag in the centres of the city. They were able to liberate the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE on 16th May 1996 and set up government rule.

In the meantime the LTTE made devastating attacks on the oil refinery in Kolonnawa on October 1995 and on the Central Bank building on January 31, 1996. However, the government was not disheartened. The policy of the government was either to suppress the LTTE by war or weaken them so that they would give up their demand for a separate state and agree to some form of devolution of power.

The Chandrika Kumaratunga regime from 1994 to 1999 consolidated the atmosphere created by D. B. Wijetunga where people could live without any fear or suspicion. Although she failed to implement her election pledges like reducing the price of bread from Rs. 5.50 to Rs. 3.50, to give unemployed youth a dole of Rs. 1,500 per month and construct a super highway from Colombo to Hambantota, she was able to continue the open economy with some success.

Foreign exchange

Although Mrs. Kumaratunga did not initiate vast development projects like the UNP, she carefully managed to control the capital expenditure. She developed the rural sector by constructing 324 small tanks that were neglected, built 680 new bridges and provided electricity to a vast number of villages. There was a vast increase of foreign employment that brought foreign exchange to the country during her regime.

On the other hand she came under severe criticism on the undemocratic manner the Wayamba Provincial Council election was conducted in January 1999 unleashing terror on the opponents. Besides as the PA waged war on the LTTE, the NGOs and the alternate press that played a prominent role to put the PA into power in 1994 general election and who insisted on a peaceful settlement with the LTTE withdrew their support to the PA government.

The draft of the new Constitution presented by the PA in 1997 to devolve power was vehemently criticised by the Maha Sangha and political parties like the JVP, Sihala Urumaya and the MEP as a device that would divide the country to pieces.

National outlook

In this background when the presidential election was on cards, the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe made a declaration that if he gains power he would offer an interim administration of Tamil areas to the LTTE for two years. This provoked opposition from the Maha Sangha and political parties with a national outlook. It made the MEP to support Chandrika Kumaratunga against Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election.

The presidential election that was to be held on December 21, 1999 appeared to be close contest between Chandrika Kumaratunga of the PA and Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP. Amidst this atmosphere the LTTE directed a bomb attack on the final day of the PA at the Town Hall premises on December 18, 1999 to assassinate Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga. Although she narrowly escaped death, she was blinded in one eye.

At the same time, the LTTE made a bomb attack at the UNP rally at Ja-ela causing several deaths including that of Col. Lucky Algama. It is said that the motive behind these bomb attacks was to assassinate Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga and in the event the UNP were to come into power Brig. Lucky Algama who defeated the LTTE in the East, prevent becoming the Secretary of Defence.

The foiled assassination bid of Mrs. Kumaratunga created a swing in her favour at the presidential election. At the end she won it by getting 51.2% of the total votes polled and became President for the second time. Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP polled 42.71 of the votes and Nandana Gunatilleka of the JVP polled 4.08% of the votes.

Minorities

After the 1999 presidential election the PA tried to present a constitution that would devolve power to the minorities. They had discussion with the UNP from March to July 2000 and presented a draft to Parliament in August 2000. However, the UNP vociferously opposed it saying that it was not the constitution agreed upon.

They alleged that the powers to provinces were enhanced so as to weaken the central government. They also complained that although it was agreed to abolish the executive President there were clauses in the draft constitution enabling Mrs. Kumaratunga to continue till 2005.

The JVP, the MEP and the Maha Sangha too opposed the constitution. This too was branded as an attempt to divide the country. As there was no chance of getting a 2/3rd majority of members in the Parliament, the government had to abandon the draft of the constitution.

As the term of the Parliament ended in August 25, 2000, it was dissolved and the general election was fixed for October 10, 2000. By this time the PA had become strong as 7 MPs of the UNP including some big wigs like Wijayapala Mendis, Sarath Amunugama and Susil Moonasinghe left the party and joined the PA. As the MEP supported Mrs. Kumaratunga at the Presidential election the doors of the PA were open to it.

The NGOs and the alternative press that would have objected to it had moved out of the PA and the LSSP and the CP did not stand in the way. In the meantime the Sihala Urumaya that stood for the rights of the Sinhalese too emerged as a political party.

The PA won the general election 2000 getting 94 seats. The UNP won 84 seats and the JVP managed to get 8 seats. Although the Sinhala Urumaya could not win a single seat it got one seat from the national list.

Conflict

The PA which got 107 seats including 11 from the national list could form the government with the assistance of the SLMC and the Workers' Congress. The MEP and the CP that contested from the PA won 2 seats each but the LSSP failed to get a single seat. But a member of the LSSP was appointed from the national list.

In 2001, there was a conflict between the PA and the SLMC and Mrs. Kumaratunga expelled its leader Rauf Hakeem from the Cabinet. Now the majority of the SLMC crossed over to the opposition and the number of members in the government was reduced to 109 whereas those in the opposition increased to 115. To meet this situation Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga prorogued Parliament and entered into an MoU with the JVP.

The PA formed a government with the support of the JVP and according to the MoU the Cabinet was reduced to 20. Before long 12 MPs of the PA crossed over to the UNP and the Workers' Congress too left the government. Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga had to dissolve Parliament and call for a fresh election.

At the general election held on December 5, 2001, the UNP won 96 seats and the PA could get only 77 seats.

Accordingly the UNP formed a government with the help of the SLMC and the Workers' Congress. The UNP government signed a truce with LTTE on February 22, 2002 and began Peace Talks with them. The LTTE however began to violate the truce from the word go and soon moved out of the Peace Talks on various pretexts.

On November 2003 Mrs. Kumaratunga took over three Ministries under her wing using the Presidential powers. On January 20, 2004 the SLFP signed a MoU with the JVP on a five pronged program. Thereafter President Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament and called for a general election.

Tsunami

For the general election held on April 2, 2004 the PA and the JVP entered into a coalition and formed the Eksath Janatha Nidahas Sandanaya.

It won the election getting 105 seats. The JVP accepted 4 Ministries and deputy ministries in the government.

However, the coalition between the PA and the JVP did not last long. In 2005 the JVP left the government over giving some powers to the LTTE in the tsunami reconstruction program. The government had to maintain its power by offering some ministerial positions to some dissident UNPers the SLMC and the Workers' Congress.

A significant feature in Sri Lanka of the 21st century is the setback of the traditional left parties and emergence of the JVP to their place. At the 1994 general election the JVP could win only one seat. It increased its power in local government and provincial Council elections 1997-99. It got 8 seats in 2000 election and doubled it with 16 in the 2001 election.

At the 2004 general election it contested in coalition with the PA and won 36 out of 39 seats it contested. Now the JVP has become the main Left force in Sri Lanka.

Nevertheless in 2008 there was a major split in the JVP weakening its strength in the country. However, recent actions of the JVP have thrown some suspicion on its activities.

When the government was engaged in a decisive war against the LTTE it pulled the leg of the government by organising strikes. Now it has formed a coalition with the reactionary UNP against Mahinda Rajapaksa, the candidate of the progressive camp.