{"id":106644,"date":"2020-09-15T15:43:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T22:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106644"},"modified":"2020-09-15T15:43:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T22:43:26","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-17-c7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/15\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-17-c7\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 17 C7"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The two JVP insurgencies of 1971 and 1987 have not been looked at\ndeeply or analytically. Commentators have concentrated on describing what the\nJVP did, not why they did it.  Commentators\ntreat the JVP with great indulgence, calling the JVP an idealistic, romantic youth\nmovement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Dharman    Wickremaratne said that, as a working\njournalist, he had associated with many JVPers. They had a broad vision, much\nenergy and strong voices, he said.  Neville Jayaweera and S. Nadesan were also\nsympathetic. These commentators have only\nlooked at the JVP student and youth base, observed analysts. JVP was not a youth rebellion at all, said Chandraprema. The youth were merely used by the JVP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts also suggested that the JVP movement arose primarily   due to the poverty and unemployment in the\ncountry.  It is these two factors that\ndrove the youth to JVP, said analysts. That is not so. The poor and unemployed\ndid not run to the JVP. The JVP came after them. JVP was a shrewd, externally\ndirected movement, which needed an obedient cadre. They got one without any\ndifficulty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recruiting cadres, JVP made contact with most downtrodden and\ndesperate    persons. These were\nindentified and JVP made contact with them and convinced them that they should\nsupport JVP. JVP focused on the lumpen proletariat and used them for their own\npurposes, said Chandraprema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP knew to exploit the envy and anger of those who could not make\nit, those who were unemployed or in low paying jobs with no hope of advancement\nfor their children. JVP gave them \u2018the psychological factor of hope\u2019, said\nChandraprema. The notion of revolution gave the youth a zest, he added. There\nwas also disenchantment with the traditional left, pointed out Wiswa Warnapala.\nWhen Wijeweera was discharged from prison in 1970, he was treated as a hero and\ngarlanded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP\nalso used caste. In 1971, JVP had support from Karawa, Wahumpura and Batgam in\nthe south. Govigama, Navandanna\nand Berava did not support, said analysts. Mahawatte\nvillage consisted mainly of  <\/em>Batgama,\nWahumpura, Durawa, Nakathi castes and most of the villagers supported JVP.\nMenikhinna consisted mainly of Batgam caste and was a hot bed of JVP activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially,\nthere was much sympathy for JVP in villages, said Rohan Gunaratna. Many people\nhad genuine sympathy for JVP because they too when they were young, had\nexperienced the frustrations articulated by JVP.  The lower and lower middle class thought JVP\noffered a better alternative to UNP and SLFP. They had high expectations from\nJVP. There was\nalso the feeling that unemployed and underprivileged youth had the right to revolt,\nobserved Chandraprema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some writers, using their imagination, saw this\nas \u2018the first revolutionary organization of the Sri Lanka peasantry\u2019. JVP was\ntrying to convert a rural backward peasantry to a revolutionary force, they\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP leaders\nhowever, did not come from the unemployed group or the lower classes. They came\nfrom the middle class.  They were\neducated and employed. This is to be expected. An uneducated group could not\nlead an insurgency. There were professionals among the JVP leaders. Lalith\nChandrasiri was an electrical Engineer of Steel Corporation. Viraj Fernando was\na mechanical engineer at Steel Corporation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some were in stable employment. Somawansa Amarasinghe was a\ntechnical assistant in Irrigation Department. Jude Anthony was electrical technician at St Anthony\u2019s\nConsolidated. Wijepala (1971 insurgency) was an employee of Colombo Port\ncommission. Beli sira\u201d was a bullock cart renter at Hambantota.     One member in the   Womens division was a teacher, another was a\nlocal government employee, and a third had worked in Singapore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JVP\nPolitburo of 1980 had seven University graduates or drop outs, observed Rohan\nGunaratna.  The JVP top rankers also\nincluded graduates and University drop outs. J.G. Wijegunasekera was a graduate\nin mass communications, University Kelaniya. Upali\nJayaweera had graduated from University of Kelaniya with an honors degree in\neconomics. Saman Piyasiri has been in University of Kelaniya. Lalith Wijeratne\n(Aravinda) studied in the Arts Faculty at University of Peradeniya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JVP\nleadership became politicized due to various factors. Ananda Idamegama was an\nengineering student at Peradeniya suspended for assaulting pro UNP\nstudents.  Shantha Bandara had studied at\nTrinity College, Kandy and Ananda College Colombo.   He was in the Science Faculty, Peradeniya,\nand was secretary of Socialist Students Union. \nHe was suspended from the university  \nfew months before his final exams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JG\nWijegunasekera was an active trade unionist at Coconut Cultivation Board, and\nSmall Industries Board.  He was dismissed\nafter the 1980 strike. Upali Jayaweera applied for dozens of jobs, but could\nnot get a job because of his leftist leanings. Palitha Dissanayake was a school\nboy when he went to prison in 1971. He became a full time JVPer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP seems to\nhave had good intelligence and knew to sniff out sound recruits. Upali\nJayaweera was the son of village headman, his mother was a school teacher, his\nbrother was an engineer and Upali was in the Medical Faculty. He went back home\nwhen University closed in 1987. He was approached   when reading at the Nuwara Eliya Public\nLibrary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 His potential was immediately seen. Upali was\nappointed leader for Maskeliya, and was sent to University of Colombo for\ntraining, as Peradeniya   University\nrepresentative from Medicine, together with the representatives for English,\nscience and arts.  Rohan Gunaratne was\nimpressed by Upali Jayaweera, and said Upali would have commanded the party, if\nhe lived. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP posed as a Marxist party. But no one took their Marxism\nseriously. Wijeweera was not supported by either Russia or China, the two\nleading Communist powers. Wijeweera\u2018s own Marxism was always suspect. Wijeweera\nchanged from Leninist to Trotskyite in 1973. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Wiswa Warnapala   heard Wijeweera address students at\nPeradeniya In 1971. Wijeweera was all revolutionary rhetoric, gestures, and\ngesticulations, said Wiswa. Wijeweera traversed the entire course of the\nhistory of revolution and referred to all revolutionary ideologies in the\nworld. Wijeweera\u2018s own revolutionary ideology was a hotchpotch of all these\nideologies without a clear cut strategy. His ideology was, in Marxian terms,\nnot ideology at all, said Wiswa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My assessment\nwas that this man, with neither ideology nor political strategy would put the\nyouth of the country into serious trouble, concluded Wiswa. In one   manifesto Wijeweera had said that if a\nperson wrote to the government in French he would get a reply in French. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr.  Wasantha Bandara   had maintained secret links with Rohana\nWijeweera throughout 1984-1989 period. During\nregular secret meetings with Rohana Wijeweera, Bandara said he realized Wijeweera\nwas not in full control of the operations undertaken by the JVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indradasa said Wijeweera was \u2018a person easy to control,\u2019 though\nhis speeches sounded fiery.   Facing the\ncamera for a video statement when arrested, the expression on his face was one\nof disappointment and dismay, said Indradasa. He had spoken in a shattered\nvoice, with emotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was captured in 1971, Wijeweera was very docile, unlike\nhis public image, said Chandraprema. He had told everything about everybody\nwhile trying to hide his own liability for the insurgence. His statement went\nto 400 pages, in 1989 he was brief, said Chandraprema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP was a hard headed cynical \norganization under a ruthless leadership, said critics. Noble sentiments were lacking. There was a lack of heroism and\nmoral uprightness in the JVP, said Chandraprema.. The JVP leaders were never\nidealistic.  Rank and file may have had\nidealistic  views\u2019 but not the\nleadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP had boasted of their simple life style. Then  in September 1989 Rupavahini showed the\npublic the mansions, cars, and personal luxuries including  foreign aphrodisiacs used by the top JVP\nleadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the JVP high command , self protection came first. When they\nordered villagers out on a demonstration, JVP got those they disliked to march\nfirst so they were the first to get killed. JVP leaders stayed  in the rear, \nthey never went in the front. \nThey were safe from fire. They had followed this from the time they\nstarted forced demonstrations, said Chandraprema. An enterprising officer had\nonce got a helicopter to fire at the rear of the procession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989 JVP did not display much bravery in captivity. Top\nleadership  told all within 24 hours. They\nwere captured within  less than 24 hours\nof each  other. JVP was only willing to\nkill for a cause but not to die for it, \ncritics observed.   Analysts noted\nthat the junior cadres were much better,  under interrogation .They did not sing even\nunder torture. I do not think this was due to courage and loyalty, they\nprobably  knew very little  about the \norganization .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP had two levels of activity, open and\nsecret. One genuine, the other bogus. They\nhad two parallel\npolitical agendas  to match this, one for\nthe public and another for the \ninsiders  in the party. The entire\norganization was conspiratorial, said Wiswa Warnapala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP \u2018s \npublic agenda said the JVP wanted \nto create a socialist revolution which would benefit the masses.  This bogus agenda was  put forward to win  the popular support   JVP needed \nin order to capture political power. The \ncadres were told that the public agenda was  an \n\u2018upakrama\u2019. Whenever a party cadre showed any uncertainty over the dual\nstrategy, the answer was eka upakramayak, \nsahodaraya\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret \nagenda, which was the real one, \nwas armed seizure of power by a trained cadre of young men. JVP \nwhile holding meetings for the \npublic was secretly arming.  They\nwere  getting ready to kill. Emphasis was\non weapons and training . It was to be  a Fascist type putsch, said Wiswa\nWarnapala.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP only had short term plans, not long term\nones, observed Chandraprema, indicating that \nJVP was  only a tool obeying its\nhandlers. JVP \u2018s task was to bring the country to a grinding halt through\nterror and killing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP had foreign contacts and foreign support. Ananda Idamegama  <\/strong>had contact with foreign\nministries in Colombo. <\/strong>DJV had  trained a few of its members in India. In 1985 Amnesty International \nissued a report on Sri Lanka taking the side of the JVP.  When an armed gang  abducted eight bhikkhus of the Manawa\nHithawadi Organization in 1988  Somawansa\nphoned Amnesty  international  in London. \nBBC  filmed an attack on JVP at University\nof Sri Jayewardenepura and showed it as \n\u2018island of terror\u2019. When JVP were arrested there were Habeas corpus\napplications. These were paid for by applicant\u2019s relatives or by an aid  organization .  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in the 1971 JVP insurgency,  \nit was rumored that  JVP was\nreceiving covert aid from a foreign source. Godahewa  stated firmly that JVP had received funds in\n1971   and named Middle East, Thailand\nand Japan.  It was obvious that the JVP\nwas receiving some form of external aid in the period 1977-83 , said\nChandraprema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP tried to\nshow that all funds were obtained locally, \nthrough membership fees, \ndonations,  robberies.  JVP robbed\ncash from banks and petrol sheds. Dalandagama Maho   cooperative petrol shed, Polgahawela  and Galagamuwa  petrol sheds were robbed in 1986. In 1988,\nDigana Peoples Bank  was robbed of Rs 8\nmillion, Wellawatte Peoples Bank robbed of \nRs 20  million in  cash. JVP robbed cash and jewellery from\nMarandagahamula Peoples Bank in 1987, and Wallewatte Peoples Bank in 1989. A\npay roll of Rs 4 lakhs was robbed in Balangoda. \nAnother pay roll from Kalebokka was taken in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But JVP could not have funded its two  insurgencies \nin this ad hoc manner. JVP had heavy expenses. Some Rs 1,000,000 to Rs\n1,200,000 was needed  as  payment to full timers . Two activists in\nKandy were given Rs120,000 and 150,000 .  <\/strong> Money was also needed to lease houses,  purchase and maintain vehicles.  <\/strong>In\nthe late 1980s  JVP  bought three houses. Araliyawatte in Lilambe\narea Wariyapola, the house at Gonapola junction Batuwita and the mansion\nKatugaha Walawwa in Neluwa near Attampitiya road . When Shanta Bandara  was captured  \n Rs. one million  had been offered for his release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nthe 1989 defeat, the JVP was rescued by its foreign contacts. The foreign links\nof the JVP came to light only then, said Godahewa. This fact has not received\nthe publicity it deserves.,<\/strong> India\u2019s\nRAW had arranged to provide accommodation and other assistance in India to\nfleeing JVP cadres.  Nearly 400 were\ngiven sanctuary. In April 1989 Somawansa\u2019s wife and son had been sent to Japan,\nthen    UK via Kerala,  Thailand and Italy.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsole Politbureau member to escape, after the 1987 insurgency,  was  Somawansa Amarasinghe. He  left in March 1990. The media said  Somawansa Amerasinghe was assisted by RAW  to safely flee Sri Lanka, and he was\ninitially given refuge in India. Shamindra Ferdinando said Somawansa was helped by a section of the government to escape\nto India where Indian authorities looked after him before facilitating his\nmigration to the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  In UK Somawansa had run a special\ninternational JVP cell. This was used, \nvery successfully to conduct special meetings in different countries in\nAsia, on behalf of the JVP. According to\nDharman Wickremaratne, Somawansa had traveled to Italy via France and\nthereafter to Switzerland.. Somawansa \nlived in Paris and London  for 12\nyears and  returned to Sri Lanka to  lead the JVP in 1994.  ( Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS The two JVP insurgencies of 1971 and 1987 have not been looked at deeply or analytically. Commentators have concentrated on describing what the JVP did, not why they did it.  Commentators treat the JVP with great indulgence, calling the JVP an idealistic, romantic youth movement.  Dharman    Wickremaratne said that, as a working journalist, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}