Charging that the government has gone in for a temporary ceasefire with the LTTE, the JVP yesterday said the upcoming provincial council election should be used to change the destiny of the nation which is going to be under a dictatorship on the one hand while being subservient to India on the other.
JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva told a news conference yesterday that the government has gone in for a temporary ceasefire in the North after having given in India and had decided to go for large scale devolution of power in the North and the East. Mr. Silva also alleged that the government has sold a large number of valuable natural resources to India. He also accused the government of handing over a few islands in the East to the US to set up bases there.
At the same time he said the government is trying to prolong its period of administration both in the provincial council level and on a national level, using the military successes earned by the brave security forces. “The government is using state machinery to win elections in a dangerous manner without giving the opposition a fair chance to compete,” he said. He said the objective of this is to fulfill the political aspirations of one family.
The JVP General Secretary charged that over Rs 850 million has been set aside for provincial council elections this year. He said Rs 300 million was spent for the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provincial elections; a further Rs 300 million is to be spent for the Central and North Western Provincial election while Rs 200 million has also been set aside for the Western Provincial Council election to be held shortly.
He further charged that the government had unleashed a spate of violence against the opposition and is gradually getting out of the democratic path. Referring to the attack on JVP supporters in Dambulla on Sunday, he said the government was now following the LTTE code of rules in attacking any one having a meal. He said these JVP members were attacked by the supporters of a certain minister while they were having a meal.
It is in this context Mr. Silva said that the people should think ahead and vote accordingly without only taking the government’s military achievements into account. He said the JVP will field a young team of candidates for the Western Provincial Council election to start changing the destiny of the nation as it did on earlier occasions.
However he explained that the party would not consider teaming up with the UNP as they had a series of policy issues with it. “It is not possible to work with the UNP with its present leadership,” he said. -Daily Mirror
