by Lionel Bopage
There are diverse views about the politics of the JVP
and the inherent limitations contained in their political discourse. In
particular, many of the views that exist regarding the politics of comrade
Rohana Wijeweera and his assassination have contrasting narratives. In such an
environment, even coming forward to produce a cinema work like ‘The Frozen
Fire’ is a matter that needs commendation and appreciation.
The film ‘The Frozen Fire’ had
also been nominated as ‘the best movie’ at 2018 Oscar Academy Awards. This film
will be screened in Australia sometime in the future. Hence, this article is
based on the information found in the sources I have so far been able to read about the film. The film has been introduced as "the
story of the iron men tempered in the time of fire”. According to the
information presented by comrade Ariyawansa Dhammage, who had composed the
concept paper for the film and comrade Anuruddha Jayasinghe who has directed
the film, the creation of this film is the result of the experiences of a few
years and a study conducted about that turbulent period.
Most of the creative artists who appear for radical
projects are not those engaged in revolutionary politics. Similarly, most of
those engaged in alternative politics have a little understanding about radical
art creations. Attempts at artistic creation based on research studies cannot
be expected from most of those involved in politics.
The statement of the director who had been associated
with the student movement of the JVP, that he had “an intention to present this
creation very well" shows that he deviates from the tradition. The
producers of the film claim that they met and discussed with the people and
political colleagues comrade Rohana had been closely associated with during the
period he spent underground, received their assistance, acted as per their
guidance and “showed the instances that needed to be corrected”.
The decision whether an artistic creation demonstrates
the reality or not depends on whether the producers
have designated the imagery and frames aesthetically, accurately, clearly and
realistically. On the other hand, it is not always possible to decide
whether an artistic creation is acceptable or not merely based on political
theories. The artistic nature of a creative work can be assessed on the basis
of theories and laws that correspond to art itself. The aim of this article is
not to review the artistic nature of this creative work.
The political correctness of a creation is determined by
a scientific and logical analysis. In what form the creation becomes visible at
a certain point in time and for what reasons can be clarified only politically.
A creation cannot separate itself from the prevailing socioeconomic and
political circumstances. A creation that is detached cannot survive and protect
itself. The active nature of artistic works of our time is determined only to
the extent that such creations are involved in the endeavours of transforming
society.
It is important to emphasize here that the facts
mentioned below are not presented to aim at the current JVP or its leadership.
The
immediate context for this article was a review comrade Thimbiriyagama Bandara
has published as ‘"The Frozen Fire" called politics and life’. The
review mentions as follows:
1. "The right-wing
government using as a pretext the racist clashes of 83 proscribes the JVP. When
attempts were made to arrest its leaders, they were forced to pursue an
underground political existence for their safety."
2. Referring to various sources
for studying Wijeweera's character and even
mentioning that in the bibliography is a
positive characteristic of Anuruddha. Some
of our filmmakers bear no such qualities. A human can lie in life. In Art it is
not possible to lie."
I need to make a certain
clarification here.
The Black July
Pogrom of 1983 was launched on July 24. 37 Tamil
detenues held in Welikada Prison were massacred on July 25.
On July 26, an island-wide curfew was imposed. On July 28, for the second time, 15 more
prisoners were killed in Welikada Prison. The President addressed the people on
July 28. On July 31 the
Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Nava Sama Samaja Party and the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna were proscribed by an extra-ordinary gazette notification,
based on the allegation of conspiring to capture state power by force through
racial riots.
During this
time, I was at the Party Head Office in Armour Street, Colombo and at home in
Mawaramandiya, Kadawatha where we lived. As I stayed back in the Party Head
Office, I could gather information from our members about the groups that led
the Black July pogrom. The Criminal Investigation Department detained us only
about two days later. While being held in detention, it was possible for me to challenge
the baseless allegations the state had raised against the JVP utilising the
information I had collected and a few months later, to get all those held in
detention released without any charges as a result of comrade Chitra filing a
habeas corpus application.
Prior to the
proscription of the JVP on July 31, the final full
plenary session of the Central Committee was held for three days from July 21 to 23 to discuss the party policy
on the national question. This session was held at the party school at comrade
Vijitha Ranaweera's residence in Vitharandeniya, Tangalle. I did not agree with
the stand taken at this session to change the party policy on the national
question that existed until then. I came out of that session with the decision
to resign from the party due to the stand taken and also due to additional
differences of opinion I had at that time with the party leadership.
What I wish to
point out here is the fact that comrade Rohana went to comrade Vijitha
Ranaweera’s house to go underground, not after the proscription of the party,
but on the day the Black July pogrom started, the July 25th itself. The vehicle
in which he left was driven by comrade Sepala Liyanage, who is still with the
JVP. Comrade Rohana went underground without consulting or discussing the
matter with the members of the Politburo.
Comrade
Somawansa Amarasinghe met me at the Armour Street office and took part in a
discussion I had with other parties about the party proscription, especially
with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, on a day after the 31st of July.
The view of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party was also that we should go underground,
but I did not agree with it. Likewise, I did not agree at all with the decision
to go underground that comrade Rohana had taken all by himself at that point in
time.
The opinion I
held in the past and hold currently is that because we of the JVP, including
the leadership had nothing at all to do with any of the incidents in connection
with July 1983 riots, let alone a conspiracy to topple the state, we should
have responded to the political and criminal charges of the bourgeois regime
levelled against us and defeated such allegations amongst the people while
remaining in the open. When leaders like comrades Rohana and Gamanayake went
into hiding, the politically erroneous view that the JVP would have in fact
been involved with the July 1983 pogrom and a conspiracy to topple the state
would have been consolidated in society. However, at that time the JVP
repeatedly appealed on the national and international level to demand the state
of Sri Lanka to lift the proscription of the party.
While I was held
in detention at the fourth floor of the CID as well as after I was released in
December 1983, all the efforts to bring comrade Rohana
to the open failed. I still believe that is why the
state was able to make its ideology prevail for some time. When I met President
J R Jayewardene regarding the lifting of the party proscription, what he said
was that ‘Rohan’ needs to come and make a statement. Every time when I proposed
the JVP and comrade Rohana to come to the open, the only answer I received was
that he would be killed if he did so. However, there were no such killings in
the south by 1983-84.
According to the
information I have, I was not alone in the attempts to bring the JVP and
comrade Rohana to open politics. Comrade Prins Gunasekara, who passed away
recently and the then Minister of Finance Ronnie de Mel with whom comrade
Rohana had maintained contacts later on through comrade Ananda Wijeweera (comrade Rohana’s brother) and Mr Ariyadasa Sellahewa of
Devinuwara (a close associate and a relative of
theirs), had made the same request at a later stage. Even when comrade Prins as
comrade Rohana’s attorney and Mr Ronnie de Mel as their security wished to come
forward to protect comrade Rohana, the reason for the JVP and comrade Rohana to
reject this proposition is beyond explanation.
On the other
hand, one could raise a fair political question; that is, whether the JVP
leaders would have decided not to come to the open because they were indirectly
engaged in an exercise of gaining political advantage to win over the Sinhala
majority in the south by making use of the state’s allegations levelled against
the JVP regarding the July 1983 pogrom. It is
impossible to forget that the then leadership of the
JVP acted later on with dedication to build a strong platform for and work
closely with Sinhala nationalists and racists in the south carrying Sinhala
nationalism on its back against the then Tamil nationalist struggle in the
north.
First the
leaders of the Communist Party surrendered to the police. After an inquiry, all
of them were released and the proscription of the party lifted. The Nava Sama
Samaja Party leaders, who were initially in hiding, came to open politics later
with the intervention of comrade Vijaya Kumaratunga, and eventually their party
proscription was also lifted. At that time, only a group including comrade
Uduvarage Henry Perera, who had been working with a Tamil militant group in the
North, was charged with plotting to overthrow the government. He had been in
custody in connection with the April 1971 Uprising and after his release had
been engaged in politics for some time with the Revolutionary Marxist party led
by comrade Bala Tampoe. There was not a single charge filed against the
Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Nava Sama Samaja Party or the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna.
Sadly, comrade
Rohana and almost all the leaders of the JVP who had engaged in underground
politics and armed activities were assassinated by November 1989. It was highly
unlikely that the JVP leadership’s self-inflicted political suicide would have
occurred, if they contested the party proscription and proved their innocence
to the people instead of continuously remaining underground. The destruction of
about 60,000 lives could have been avoided.
The intention of
the producers to designate the imagery and frames accurately, clearly and
realistically was evident due to their initial efforts to establish contacts
with me to get an idea about the characters of the film ‘The Frozen Fire’.
However, those efforts were thwarted in no time. The questions that obviously
arise are: by whom, for whose need and to protect whose interests.
From a political
point of view, if this artistic creation ‘The Frozen Fire’ displayed to the
people what the reality was about the differences that existed between the
vision and the program of the JVP from about 1972 until
July 1983 and the vision and the program of the JVP
since the party was proscribed in July 1983, especially
from 1986 to around 1990 during
the time the armed struggle was launched, it could have brought an important
experience and made a significant contribution towards social development in
Sri Lanka.
The task of
socialising the experiences of the restructuring of the Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna prior to the armed struggle in 1989 and the analysis of the social and
political basis of the party’s oscillation from the extreme right to the
extreme left still remains.
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