Topic started by Raveen (@ aca541b5.ipt.aol.com) on Sun Apr 28 00:47:39 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I am glad to have started a thread with a totally Sinhalese title in the Tamil History Forum :-)

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna stands for Peoples Liberation Front in Sinhalese. It was founded by a Soviet educated Sri Lankan namely Comrade Wijeweera sometimes in the late 60's.

Although he was trainned in the Soviet Union, his communist revolutionary ideology was Chinese inspired along with a lot of homespun 'wisdom'.

The Sinhala majority in Sri lanka is evenly divided between the have caste called Govigama and the have not castes (number of them of which Karave, Durave and Salagama - KDS - stand out) This also 'roughly' (very roughly) correponds to the class division.

But the super elite who control the country through politics and business has a fair sprinkling of the top rung of the so called backward castes (KDS).

The conection to Tamil Nadu comes from the fact that historically the KDS were originally from South India who had migrated to Sri Lanka pre and post Portugese period (1505 - 1610) for various reasons. Karave as fishmongers, Durave as toddy tappers and Salagama as cinomon peelers. But unlike the Eelam Tamils, who maintained their Tamil and essentially Hindu identity in the North and East, these groups eventually became part of the Sinhalese ethnom.

But the caste system did not alow them completely assimilate with the Sinhala community. Discrimination in many spheres continues even today. Those amongst the KDS who had taken advanatage of the colonial education system were able to break free of this shakle of povert and enjoy the fruits of high life in the posh neibhourhoods of colombo where as their brotheren were left to suffer in smnall unproductive plots and dangerous seas in flimsy boats.

This acute class and caste divisons had created a very explosive situation in the coastal region of Southern Sri Lanka by the end of 1960s in which the explosive ideology of communist revolution and redistribution of wealth was introduced.

The rural youthsaw many calss enemises amongst who were Indian plantation laborers, Muslim petty traders, Jaffna Tamil profesionals, Colombo Elites of all types. Hence the movement from the start was not very minority friendly nor did it accept that the minorities had any special collective right to land, ethnic identity or even langauge. They also viewed India as a hegemony and a neibhourhood bully.

Anyway to cut the story short, they started a very ill fated insurection in 1971 which was put down with the help of Indian Army. It resulted in the death of 25,000 Sinhalese youth most of them innocent. Fast forward, Comrade Wijeweera was realesed from jail after 1977 and he began to build a gogmatic Communist Party under the name JVP. They were slowly building their vote base when the 1983 anti-Tamil pogoram hit Sri Lanka. The then government falsely balmed it on the JVP and banned it thus forcing it to go undeground. After IPKF was introduced the JVP used the latent anti- Indian feeling amongst the Sinhala people to create another insurrection, this time Comrade himself was killed along with 80,000 Sinhales youth most again innocent. But that was not the end ofthe story, a new government comes to power and realesed the rest of the JVP leadership who have built another generation expecting redistribution of wealth from the Wealthy who includes many different groups than what we originally had in 1970s.

They ar using the insecurity felt by the Sinhalese people due to the MOU signed the govt. and the LTTE to forment mass demonstartions but I am sure thaey willnot try another insureection as they know that uncle Sam (not just India) will simply not let tha happen. The leadership of the current JVP have become regular corrupt politician whose only aim is to faten their bank accounts (Swiss of course). That makes them less of a lethal group. I simply dont think that not one Sinhala pressure group can derail the current peace process as long as the LTTE keeps its date in Thailand. So far they have played all their cards correct, for the sake of my people let us hope and pray they will keep playing is correct in the future too.

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Raveen (@ h66-59-174-253.gtconnect.net) on: Tue May 7 11:07:16
  
  "What relations does the JVP have with the leftist movements of India ? "
  
  From what we know only the 'traditional' leftist parties of Sri lanka such as the Chinese and Soviet wings of CP and Troskyte, Lanka Sama Samaja Party, and NSSP have had any party level relationship with the Indian left like CPI and CPI(M).
  
  JVP has always stood outside the mainstream left politics of both Sri Lanka and India.
  
  They have managed to mix extreme nationalism with Marxism as it suited them. But at the core level they have been like the Khmer Rouge (KR) of Cambodia, Populist , glorifying the past hydraulic civilization of Sri Lanka and seeing Marxism as a method to get there yet again.
  
  Very eerie parallels with KR in that aspect, as a kid I have attended many JVP gatherings and was mesmerized along with the others around as they told a story of past pristine glory which was built by the “benevolent” Sinhalese kings using a socialist Rajakiriya (volunteered service to the King) system to built roads, tanks and Viharas.
  
  They felt the Sinhalese have been a Marxist people all along and capitalism was an aberration. KR used similar tactics in Cambodia too.
  
  Thank god in Sri Lanka we did not have the opportunity to see how they would really run the country unlike what happened in Cambodia.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Nisala (@ ac997b4e.ipt.aol.com) on: Thu May 9 13:50:25
  
  "JVP has always stood outside the mainstream left politics of both Sri Lanka and India."
  
  Not entirely true. A few years ago, the JVP sang a completely different tune than now. They took part in 'peace' demonstrations with the LSSP and CP.
  
  "But at the core level they have been like the Khmer Rouge (KR) of Cambodia, Populist , glorifying the past hydraulic civilization of Sri Lanka and seeing Marxism as a method to get there yet again."
  
  To an extent I agree. There is a significant difference. Whereas the JVP has been indifferent to Buddhism in general, the Khmer Rouge had a blistering hatred of that belief and participated in the mass destruction of monasteries and murder of monks (whom they considered to be lazy and non-proletarian).
  
  There have been a few monks who have participated in JVP. But one thing that has to be established is that Buddhism as a philosophy does not describe or attempt to explain an ideal society (as opposed to an ideal person). This lack of political theory has found all over the world, until about 200-300 years ago in W. Europe. So those monks who are sympathetic to JVP do not invoke Buddhism. Rather, they invoke Socialism/Communism which is a political philosophy.
  
  "they told a story of past pristine glory which was built by the “benevolent” Sinhalese kings using a socialist Rajakiriya (volunteered service to the King) system to built roads, tanks and Viharas."
  
  Interesting.
  
  "They felt the Sinhalese have been a Marxist people all along and capitalism was an aberration."
  
  Capitalism is an aberration. It promotes individualism and self-development which is the bane of all real liberation movements like Eelam movement where the individual is inferior to the group identity and where the government not the individual must be responsible for identifying hate speech.
  
  "Thank god in Sri Lanka we did not have the opportunity to see how they would really run the country unlike what happened in Cambodia."
  
  I agree. We have a better role model the LTTE which is the world pioneer in suicide-bombing. It holds the record of 170 attacks, and in second place is Lebanese Hezbollah with a paltry 25 attacks. Though the JVP were fairly effective terrorists the LTTE is the cream of the crop in that field. That is why I hope maybe JVP will return to armed struggle, this time with child-soldiers and suicide-bombing too. That would be a real delight.
  
  
  
• From: Tamilian (@ qc-mon-pel-ap3-03-41.look.ca) on: Tue May 14 00:55:44
  
  who cares about this crap in a Tamil forum. Why don't you two phone each other, if you have one.
  
  hahahaha
  
  
• From: Mavalngkilli (@ wc05.ym.rnc.net.cable.rogers.com) on: Sat May 25 21:30:21
  
  lol, hehe nice one?! Groan..anyway i don't get what u guys talking since it's too long conversation so u better talk specificly and I hate JVP and u should know how many Tamils died during the war with India. We are humans too and we have rights too. If we don't get that policy then we'll try the hard way.
  
  
• From: Mavalngkilli (@ wc05.ym.rnc.net.cable.rogers.com) on: Sat May 25 21:37:38
  
  real delight, oh yea right we are going to sit and see JVP coming with the singhlaese with Artlery, Tanks and Planes bomping Tamils and shooting and frying us. Heck no! Now we have a better army than we used to have 2 decades ago. I don't worry about the JVP crap, well JVP and singhlaese community have to worry, if they don't then their community will vanish in a second.
  
  about the Buddist Monk Crap, i would say they are the big prob. The were until Norway got into the prob and so does the whole World. We didn't sucide for fun and it's not some records it's our blood for what we suffered and we lost lot of ppl for that.
  
  
• From: dilan (@ 132.150.145.18) on: Tue Jun 4 03:21:41
  
  
  
  Are JVP protests justified?
  Not many days ago, I watched on TV the vociferous demonstration, headed by the JVP, protesting against the MoU.
  
  This thought struck me, as it is sure to have many others. Those shouting, as they read from prepared scripts, and gesticulating wildly, were young, able-bodied and of military age. Why have they failed to enlist in the forces and answer the several calls that have been made?
  
  I ask these questions. Have you a viable alternative? Would you volunteer to enlist in equal number in the event the present effort fails and hostilities recommence? Are you prepared to suffer economic hardship and cheerfully pay additional taxes that a continued war will entail?
  
  It is only if you can answer honestly in the affirmative that you have the moral right to mount these protests.
  
  One last question. Where is your Somawansa Amerasinghe with his much vaunted 50,000 volunteers? Is he not luxuriating in cooler climes when he should be sharing our woes?
  Anti-humbug
  Nawala
  
  
  
  
  
• From: dinuka (@ ) on: Tue May 11 07:56:29
  
  this is for the sosalist sosity.
  
  aravinda
  
  
• From: Gaya (@ ) on: Thu Nov 11 00:31:32
  
  I actulaly don't know after 20 years of war what Mr Prabhakaran wants more?. They say that they don't want a seperate land for the time being. but at the same time they say that they want to achieve the objective of Tamil ealm dream.
  
  Sri lanka is a very very small country and majority tamils and muslims are living together with sinhalese in Colombo and suburbs. They don't have any problems. they eat to gether. study together and behave together.They know how to respect each other.
  Main problem here is not the race. but the poorness of the people reagrdless of the race. Rich tamils & sinhalese living happliy. They don't affect from the war or economic conditions. If rich tamils feel that they can't live in Jafna due to the war or security problems they can immedeately go abroad or go to Colombo.But poor tamils will suffer continiously. Same as the poor sinhalese they suffer from the war and the poor economy. But Rich suhalese like Ranil,Chnadrika,SB,and busnessman in Colombo, if they think that they can't live here in Colombo they can go abroad and find ways of living. But what will happen to the poor people in the country. We all will suffer regardless of the Race what we born
  
  So i think there is no race problem here. we all have only one problem. That is that "In Sri Lanka majority is poor and minoroty is Rich"
  
  

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