FORMER REBELS
ATTEMPTING UNLIKELY UNION
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the main constituent party of the National People’s Power (NPP), approaching the Tamil Ealam Liberation Organization (TELO) and the People Liberation Organization of Tamil Ealam (PLOTE) to garner support for the upcoming presidential elections makes us travel back in annals of time with interest to the late 1980s when the country was literarily and metaphorically ‘burning’ at its two ends.
The year was 1989 and both TELO and PLOTE cadres were employed by the Government to carry out extrajudicial killings. These rebel cadres went on a killing spree eliminating the JVP. What’s hilarious is that this JVP is now approaching these two former rebel organizations to canvass for votes for the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for November 16.
There were few common traits that the three organisations shared; their cadres were young, were fighting for a cause and took to arms. Those were the days when the ‘blood’ in the young boiled because the regime was dictatorial, ruthless and used violence to crush any rebel uprising. The environment was ideal to set up such forces. The JVP Leader Rohana Wijeweera, who was known to be sensitive to pain and torturing, chose to lead the insurgents from a hideout in Bandarawela.
The JVP was more successful in jolting the Government led by R. Premadasa, who they accused of teaming up with A.thondaman and dancing to the tune of India and allowing for the atrocities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). The ‘Red’ party also made claims of forming a trained army which was capable of engaging with the enemy in military combat. There were also unconfirmed reports pertaining to JVP engaging in shoot outs with the IPKF and causing some casualties in the Indian camp.
TELO and PLOTE are now refined organisations and have joined the democratic path in taking to mainstream politics. The JVP by choice avoids referring to its dark past and distances itself with the name Rohana Wijeweera. The two former Tamil militant organisations may still wish to be associated with their past despite their struggle to bring change to the political landscape suffering the same fate as the JVP. All three organisations were militarily crushed.
There are records which state that the TELO, once taking to the mainstream politics, took a PRO-LTTE stance. TELO is still rooted to its past and is so because it is fighting for the Tamil cause. But much of what the JVP fought for doesn’t exist today. The Reds are ambitious as the other parties in the fray and have opened out policy-wise; encouraging developments in education, health, agriculture and environment. The JVP which once had its own ‘Patriotic Army’ now wants to see national security strengthened.
PLOTE too had a difficult time surviving, but not before engaging in extrajudicial killings; working closely with the Government controlled killing machine called PRA.
These rebel cadres went on a killing spree eliminating the JVP. What’s hilarious is that this JVP is now approaching these two former rebel organizations to canvass for votes for the upcoming presidential elections
The JVP was more successful in jolting the Government led by R. Premadasa, who they accused of teaming up with A.thondaman and dancing to the tune of India
Most of the onetime ruthless rebels from these organisations are now potbellied administrators having a mindset to negotiate, tolerate, shelf the arms struggle and enjoy the comforts of the cushy life offered to ministers and members of parliament.
But the recent unofficial meetings the JVP had with PLOTE and TELO would certainly have brought those memories from a dark past to the surface. However much we try to forget the sound of guns and bombs in a 26-yearold civil war there surfaces something that connects us to the island’s war against terrorism. Just days ago Malaysia made a claim that they had detected a huge financial transaction taking place with the view of activating the rebel movement in the country. Reports from Malaysia state that the LTTE has branches in many states.
Now these reports are sure to send the Sri Lankan authorities into alert mode. All three organisations, PLOTE, TELO and the JVP, learned the hard way that armed struggles not only proved a failure they also left a nation with mental wounds that can’t be healed.
We’ve read so much about how the family of Wijeweera suffered after the demise of the founder of the JVP. The late Wijweera’s son Uvindu is in the news these days for a medical achievement, but he has showed no signs of continuing an arms struggle which his dad began many years ago. Talking on these same lines we know nothing about whether present JVP leader Dissanayake has a past where he carried weapons and was engaged in a military struggle against government security forces.
May be the present JVP, PLOTE and TELO members are wiser after having learned lessons from the past; a past where youth knew little about negotiation and more about aggression. May be the present members of these three organisations have it in them to sit at one table and talk sense, for the sake of humanity. It might seem quite unlikely that the JVP, PLOTE and TELO would find a common goal to work on politically, but if they have forgotten the past and are looking to a future of peace and prosperity, then it could be assumed that they have matured as men of substance.
May be the present JVP, PLOTE and TELO members are wiser after having learned lessons from the past; a past where youth knew little about negotiation and more about aggression