{"id":66176,"date":"2019-11-02T14:05:33","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T18:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=66176"},"modified":"2019-11-02T14:05:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-02T18:05:33","slug":"jvp-leader-and-presidential-candidate-anura-kumara-dissanayake-says-prevalent-national-security-concerns-need-to-be-tackled-with-a-political-response-and-not-a-military-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=66176","title":{"rendered":"JVP Leader and Presidential Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake Says Prevalent National Security Concerns Need to be Tackled with a Political Response and not a Military Response."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka does not need a military response to tackle prevalent national security concerns; the country needs a sound political response, according to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader and presidential candidate of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).<\/p>\n

In an interview to The Hindu on Thursday, at the JVP headquarters near the Sri Lankan Parliament, Mr. Dissanayake sought to debunk the \u201cnational security\u201d pitch made by prominent contestant Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary, drawing many who want a \u201cstrong leader\u201d.<\/p>\n

His main opponent and the ruling United National Party\u2019s (UNP) candidate Sajith Premadasa, too, has promised to involve former Army commander Sarath Fonseka in national security affairs.<\/p>\n

Challenging both, Mr. Dissanayake said the \u201cnational security threat\u201d, which has emerged a key election issue following the Easter Sunday terror bombings, must be compared to the civil war years. \u201cThe LTTE had its own army, navy and even an air force. They controlled parts of the country. That situation warranted a military strategy and response in the interest of national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The current threat is more a case of extremist elements in one community attacking people of another community, he noted. \u201cThat is essentially what happened in the Easter attacks. That is also what happened in Digana [2018].\u201d The April 21 serial blasts, which investigators have attributed to a local Islamist radical group, were carried out in churches and high-end hotels, killing over 250 people. Authorities who probed the violence in the town of Digana, near Kandy, last year, found that Sinhalese mobs carried out targeted attacks on shops and homes of Muslims in the area.<\/p>\n

Communal tensions witnessed in the last few years did not originate from within the communities, Mr. Dissanayake argued. They were \u201cplanted\u201d by political actors for their own narrow gains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn such a situation, what can MiG aeroplanes, multi-barrels, brigades and army generals do? They cannot solve the problem,\u201d he said. Racism and religious extremism had become part of a \u201cpolitical project\u201d in Sri Lanka and therefore, needed a political solution. \u201cOnly an alternative political force or movement can solve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

A third force
\nIt is such a political movement that the JVP aims to build, not only to ensure national and public security, but also to challenge and replace \u201cthe entrenched, self-serving\u201d politics of Sri Lanka\u2019s two main political parties that have alternated in power since independence.<\/p>\n

The candidacy of JVP MP Dissanayake, 50, is significant. Not so much for the party\u2019s electoral base \u2014 it polled about 5.75 % of the votes in the local polls last year \u2014 but more for its leader\u2019s growing appeal.<\/p>\n

Mr. Dissanayake\u2019s sharp and evocative interventions in Parliament, also seen during the country\u2019s infamous 52-day constitutional crisis in October 2018, won him many fans, particularly among intellectuals, artistes and the youth.<\/p>\n

A staunch campaigner of the abolition of executive presidency, Mr. Dissanayake took the plunge this poll because the party couldn\u2019t see itself supporting another candidate again. It is the first time in nearly 20 years that the JVP is fielding its own candidate in the presidential election, after having tactically backed \u2014 explicitly and indirectly \u2014 other candidates in the past. In 2015, their campaign was fiercely critical of the then incumbent Rajapaksas, effectively pointing voters to the Maithripala Sirisena\u2013Ranil Wickremesinghe combine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is the same [Mr. Wickremesinghe\u2019s] UNP that protected the Rajapaksas and created an environment where a family member could enter this contest. The UNP has no moral right now to ask the people to defeat the Rajapaksas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In fact, some dreading the return of the \u201crepressive\u201d Rajapaka rule have been pressuring the JVP, to divert its supporters to Mr. Premadasa, seen as the only viable challenger to Mr. Rajapaksa. They fear that Mr. Dissanayake\u2019s candidacy might split the anti-Rajapaksa vote and hamper Mr. Premadasa\u2019s chances. In a presidential election, held under a preferential system here, the winner needs 50 % plus one vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate their concern, but it is very unfair to ask us to do this again and again. We want to build our political and socio-economic vision for the long-term. The movement for change has to begin now,\u201d Mr. Dissanayake said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Dissanayake is also of the view that, if Mr. Rajapaksa or Mr. Premadasa comes to power, both will invariably tread an undemocratic path to secure power amidst the political-economic crisis facing the country. \u201cBoth their parties have a tendency for that. In such times, having a strong left, democratic force to challenge them is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tamil demands<\/strong><\/p>\n

In building such a force, Mr. Dissanayake sees a potential partnership with the Tamil and Muslim minorities. \u201cMany in both communities have been very receptive to our campaign. We see that as a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, while the JVP and Tamil National Alliance stood together during last year\u2019s constitutional crisis, the parties have not been able to come together ahead of this presidential election.<\/p>\n

The TNA is yet to declare its position, but is widely expected to back Mr. Premadasa, since the Rajapaksas still evoke fear and discomfort among the Tamils.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are engaging with the TNA. We recognise that the Tamil people have unique political, socio-economic needs [after the war] and believe they have to be addressed.\u201d However, suggesting that the TNA often chose \u201cinstant\u201d or short-term gains, Mr. Dissanayake said: \u201cFrom their perspective, they feel it is important to accept even minor gains and reforms, but we stand for major reforms now. Nevertheless, we will continue talking to the TNA and all other Tamil political groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtesy;The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka does not need a military response to tackle prevalent national security concerns; the country needs a sound political response, according to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader and presidential candidate of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). In an interview to The Hindu on Thursday, at the JVP headquarters near the Sri …<\/p>\n

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