Though united in policy, division is obvious

"The bourgeoisie manipulated well so that the Sinhala and Tamil youth were shouting contradictory slogans. The riots of 1983 were begun by them but, both the NSSP and the JVP were proscribed for defending the right of self- determination of the Tamils. The NSSP stood firm but the JVP yielded to Sinhala chauvinism."
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By Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne

(December 06, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Former president J R Jayewardena brought in the executive presidency to serve a particular agenda. The open economic policy needed such a strong political head. If the Multi National Corporation(MNC) system is to come in and play the important central role expected of them, it was necessary to give all the facilities requested by them.

Thus it was introduced as an instrument to support the MNC system. When they need any agreement either economic or security or any other it will be easy to go through an executive head, with the ministries of defence and finance than through parliament with all the obstacles of transparency and criticism.

Information will be confined to secretaries and advisers to the president and decisions can be arrived at, without delay. So it was brought in to facilitate international moneylenders and plunderers of global capitalism. Global capitalism is the modern version of imperialism. It integrates the entire MNC system with theIMF, WB and the WTO as management organs. I explained all that in 1978 Feb. 4 and I was locked up in prison for that. Now everyone is clamouring for the removal of this tree of vultures, but once they get elected they hold on to it not necessarily due to the greed for power, but because of international pressure of the global masters.

Today, the global capitalist system is in disarray facing an acute economic crisis. All attempts to put the system into order have not been sufficient so far. Still to come is a food crisis, that could put a large part of humanity into hunger and death. So it is vital for us to seriously consider developing our food production, particularly paddy, fish and milk. If we do not turn towards a nature oriented, environmentalist approach we may be too late. In the past three decades, the so-called development projects were responsible for the insurrections both in Sinhala and Tamil rurral areas.
Unrest

The unrest started even before but, the general strike of 1980 gave added impetus. Unfortunately, the failure of the strike created a vacuum that pushed the rural youth in sectarian directions. The bourgeoisie manipulated well so that the Sinhala and Tamil youth were shouting contradictory slogans. The riots of 1983 were begun by them but, both the NSSP and the JVP were proscribed for defending the right of self- determination of the Tamils. The NSSP stood firm but the JVP yielded to Sinhala chauvinism. When the LTTE asked for Tamil freedom, the JVP classified it as a project of imperialists. Actually both were organically fighting against global capital and its plundering agents.

The changes at the top did not change the agenda of global capital. Chandrika came to power with much noise against the inhumanity of the open economic policy and its social results. But having won with a massive majority she could not do a thing about the system. She came to power shedding tears about the youth, murdered during the Sinhala uprising. The insurrection of Sinhala youth was decimated with a death toll of over 50 thousand.

After coming to power using their predicament she did a balancing trick for eleven years and the baton was given to Mahinda who did the second contract for the global system, the massacre of Tamil youth.

In spite of the ferocity of terror and the mixing of slogans both Sinhala and Tamil youth insurrections were launched against international plunderers and exploiters. Indirectly these youth were crying for freedom, autonomy and self-determination. The ruling agents of global capitalism used state terror, surpassed only by the Americans in Arab lands, to murder over 150 thousand youth of this country in the name of democracy.

Nationality and religion
How can there be democracy in a land, which is kept divided by nationality and religion? Even now, the two agents of global system Mahinda and Sarath clamour for democracy without any hint of pulling the masses together in national unity.

Both worked together to crush the Tamil uprising that was waged ferociously to defend the autonomy of their people. Both were singing and dancing with their masters about the victory until the workers started the battle in the work places.

The strikes pushed them in to a fresh debate and they emerged as a two headed serpent to face the people. Yes, we lost in both insurrections but we beat them back in the trade union battle. Now they have come out in a presidential election united in policy but divided in camouflage. Let us get together and give a real blow to both of them , and move forward for a united Lanka to face the dictates of global capital

-Sri Lanka Guardian