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By Charles Perera

If JVP has any socialist sense they should join up with the President Mahinda Rajapakse. In Mahinda Rajapakse we have a man who sincerely wants to help the country rise from its long slumber of inactivity to progress. It is a difficult task, and all socialists worthy of that name should give him a chance to realise this difficult task. It is immaterial who gets the credit to bring real socialism, what is necessary is every one gives a hand to its fulfilments.

It has been said that any one who wants to see a Marxist Revolution should be ready to ride on the back of any socialist government in place and show the people with their work that Marxism is a better solution for progress. JVP was able to do this previously in a PA government and Anura Dissanayake as the Minister of Agriculture, Herath as the Minister of Culture .and Lal Kantha as the Minister of Small Industries , proved themselves as young Ministers with progressive ideas, who have immense potentials for the development of the county.

They should have extended their cooperation to Mahinda Rajapakse, as he is the most sincere and progressive among all the Presidents and Prime Ministers we have had since Independence. Bringing socialism into a country like ours is not that easy. We see today how difficult it is to unite forces and carry out progressive socialist projects in a world infested with capitalism, and how the foreign western governments on whom we have to depend on for aid and loans react viciously against economic and social progress.

Only way to go ahead with socialist programs despite the negative reaction of the west is a united socialist force within the country. The Capitalist parties within the country such as the UNP, CWC,SLMC are reactionaries who are hell bent on destroying any socialist program put forward by the government. The JVP has a right to criticise the government to force it not to deviate from the programme put before the country. But the JVP should understand the practical difficulties the government has in giving effect to the programme. There is the problem of terrorism which has to be eliminated in the first instance, there are the western countries intervening in different ways to hamper any progress in the country's development, there are the opposition pro-western capitalist parties, who create considerable difficulties that have to be kept in check.

JVP as an intelligent Party should evaluate the government of Mahinda Rajapkse in the light of these difficulties he has to face. He has to please every one. Mahinda Rajapakse is patient, thoughtful, calm, and doing his best to weather the difficult storms to bring the "boat to port".

What is socialism if the socialists cannot unite together to help a socialist government to give effect to the progressive work it is tying to carry out with great difficulty.

The JVP is the only socialist party the government could count on. And JVP needs the Socialist Government to implement socialist programmes. It is not by opposing the Rajapakse Government, that JVP becomes popular to form a Government of its own. It should be a slow approach. The time of the revolutions of the proletariat is over . It is through a Parliamentary process that socialism has to be established. JVP criticises the government for having enlarged its cabinet. It would not have happened if JVP had joined the government as a coalition partner at the very beginning.

The President Mahinda Rajapkse is determined to end terrorism in Sri Lanka, for that he has to have a government which would not be defeated when it is in the process of eliminating the terrorist forces. Therefore, JVP having refused their support he had to turn to others, how ever much some of them such as Thondaman's CWC, and Hakkhims SLMC are not dependable elements.

The JVP should out grow its attitude of rebellious adolescents, to act as mature politicians. They should even at this stage postpone their search for a broad national alliance, to support the government at least until the war against the terrorism is over. At the present crucial stage when the terrorism is almost on its way out , JVP should join forces with the government to fight against not only terrorism , but also the reactionary forces within and without the country.

Instead of being Socialist and supportive of the people, Anura Dissanayake of the JVP uses the language of Ranil Wickramasinghehas, when he made the following statement to the press:

"The government is nearly two years old now. During these two years no community or social strata has been pleased or their interests addressed to. This government has a future only for their henchmen and the treacherous relatives around them. The masses gain nothing from this government," said Mr. Dissanayake.

Speaking further Mr. Dissanayake said if a referendum is held now majority of the people would vote to send the government home."( The Lanka Truth)

If this statement of Dissanayake, is anything to go by, it will not be surprising if the JVP falls in line with the UNP for a determined effort to oust the present government. It was not long ago the media reported a meeting between Ranil Wickramasinghe and Anura Kumar Dissanayake. It had happened before with a hard hitting Marxist Phillip Gunawardhana, accepting a Ministerial post in a UNP Government. If the trend continues there is a possibility that the JVP itself will split up.

As a Marxist Socialist Party JVP has to be with the Government of Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, otherwise it will be a betrayal of the trust the people had placed on JVP. Taxes may be too much at least to some of the people, but it should not be made an issue to vote with the UNP against the government. Amendments could be made later on to the Budget proposals in Parliament. Perhaps Anura Kumara Dissanayake has other motives to help Ranil Wickramasinghe in his determination to vote against the budget.

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