NLF, a credible alternative - Jayanetti

by Chamikara Weerasinghe

Chamikara Weerasinghe interviews New Left Front's Presidential candidate Chamil Jayanetti on the Presidential Election.

Chamil Jayaneththi is a Central Committee member of the New Left Front led by Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne. He joined the stream of left wing politics as a member of the Nawa Sama Samaja Party in 1989 and practised Marxism.

He became a Central Committee member in 2003 and was elected as the National Organiser of the NLF at the party conference. The following interview was conducted at the NLF's party office, situated at Slave Island Colombo. "We consider vision of the Left to be the third alternative in terms of addressing the problems faced by the country," he said.

Question: The Left has been in politics for nearly five decades in the country. In what way can the Left be satisfied with its current political position after all these years in relation to people's response to its political agenda ?

Answer: The Left had been in a powerful position in the 1960s. However it came to be virtually dissolved after 1977. The Left movement became almost defunct. It is in this background that the JVP had entered into the Sri Lankan political stream. The JVP is working with the capitalists by virtue of having various deals with them to stay in political power.

We say we are a political party that has been working with the idea of establishing a decent Left in this situation and the dissolution of political parties which we knew as the Left. The New Left Front has turned up to contest the forthcoming Presidential election to signify the Left as a third power. We contest the election to oppose communalism, imperialism and the open economy.

Question: How Do you see the positions taken by main Presidential candidates with regard to the ethnic issue. On one hand we have Premier Mahinda Rajapakse who maintains he is prepared to find a solution to it through dialogue within the unitary structure of Sri Lanka, while on the other, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe maintains that his solution would be based on a united Sri Lanka?

Answer: Premier Mahinda Rajapakse's concept of unitary Sri Lanka is based on the unitary Constitution introduced by late President J.R.Jayawardene. The unitary constitution is to be found within the Constitution. It is from this stand they say that the powers should be devolved within the unitary Constitution. There is power that has been devolved in the form of Provincial Councils. Even that has not been put into operation.

We would like to ask JVP and Jathika Hela Urumaya if they were prepared to accept at least this devolution of powers to Provincial Councils. They are not ready to accept that. They contested last time in order to nullify the Provincial Councils. Now they say that the Unitary Constitution had to be preserved.

That's where they had gone wrong. And in 1994, the JVP signed an agreement with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to amend the Constitution. But today they say they would protect the unitary Constitution.

These have become jokes. On the contrary, Ranil Wickremesinghe claims he would stand for a united Sri Lanka, but we did not see any attempts made by him to amend the constitution to this effect or to abolish the executive Presidency. Wickremesinghe says he would build a united Sri Lanka. We would like to ask him how he was going to do this without changing the Constitution.

Question: What is the position maintained by the NLF in this regard ?

Answer: As Leftists we are ready to remove this Constitution and to devolve power within a united Sri Lanka. We stand for a federal Constitution as against the unitary constitution.

Question: What is your point here that you should promote a federal constitution ?

Answer: Our past leader, Colvin R.De Silva said if there two languages, there would be one country, If there was a one language , there would be two countries. In the same way I would like to explain my point here, If there was a united Sri Lanka, there will be one country, If there was a unitary Sri Lanka , there would be two countries. This will be our slogan in the campaign for Presidency.

Question: What will be your economic policy ?

Answer: We are clearly opposed to the path of open economy. The idea and the principle that we can build this country with the help of loans taken from foreign donor countries is a proven myth. Since the introduction of the open economy to the country by the UNP in 1977, we have tread on this path but we have achieved nothing except that we have run into a financial problems.

Under this system only rich has reaped benefits. That's why we think that it was necessary to introduce a new economic policy which reflects a national economy. Our development plan is based on four aspects, food, health, education and housing.

Question: Aren't the major political parties focusing their development plans on these four anyway ?

Answer: They do, Yes, they gave Jana Saviya, Samurdhi, and Siyasaviya. But has poverty been removed from our lives under their policies. In fact poverty has increased under their programmes. That is why we say that it is essential to introduce a new economic policy.

Question: How do you look at the economic policies envisaged by major Presidential candidates ?

Answer: It is very clear that if Wickremesinghe comes into power he would go about selling state resources, national resources and also natural resources to foreign companies. That is his economic policy.

And in the case of Mahinda Rajapakse, his economic policy which he claims to set on a national footing can hardly be trusted. He is more or less inclined to cling on to the capitalist's agenda. They took 3.5 billion US dollars from foreign donor countries at the aid summits held on May 17 and 18. Mahinda is also within the system of the open economy.

Question: What is the NLF's stance on the existing Ceasefire Agreement? should it change ?

Answer: No. It should not. I don't think that the existing Ceasefire Agreement should be amended because this was reached to end the hostilities between the LTTE and the Government, to stop the war. We need to go for peace talks within the agreement. Neither the UNP nor the UPFA government has made any substantial strides to have peace talks.

Three years have passed since the signing of the CFA. We have to have peace talks without further delay to stop the cold war going between the government and the LTTE. I mean there is no war to be seen in open, but the two parties are killing people from their intelligence outfits.

Question: How do you think that the LTTE would react in the context of the forthcoming election ?

Answer: The Tamil people are very much frustrated that they did not have a solution to their problems. I came to learn that the LTTE had taken a decision recently no to support any of the main political parties at the election under the circumstances.

Question: Tell us about the nature of your vote base.

Answer: The trade union movement is behind my campaign and the vote base. Therefore I think we have a strong vote, that can have an impact on the country's decision making spheres. I am in a powerful position in terms of our ability to participate in any labour struggle.

Question: Is it under the leadership of Wickremesinghe or Rajapakse that you have best chances in carrying out a labour struggle without being subject to suppression ?

Answer: It is very clear that with Ranil Wickremesinghe's policy that he would suppress the South, because his policies are West- oriented. Rajapakse maintains the same policy.