The new right-wing government of Sri Lanka is pushing the country toward civil war by increasing the repression of the Tamil minority. Communal tensions between Tamils and the Sinhalese (Buddhist) majority have long seemed intractable.
Siritunga Jayasuriya, a leading socialist in Sri Lanka, was interviewed by Angelika Teleweit at the recent World Congress of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI). Siri is convener of the newly-formed United Peoples Movement and Secretary of the United Socialist Party (USP, Sri Lankan section of the CWI).
The USP stands out in Sri Lanka as a workers organization that bridges the communal divide. They stand for the defense of the Tamil population against repression and support their right to self-determination, but also oppose the terrorist methods of the Tamil Tigers, which only deepen the communal divide. But the USP has consistently argued there will be no lasting solution within the framework of capitalism.
As Siri explains, We are campaigning for the restarting of peace talks and for a temporary agreement so that the working class is able to find a way out of the present polarization on national lines. We are the only party that is offering a united struggle of all working-class and poor people in Sri Lanka, including all communities Tamils, Muslims, and Sinhalese.
The media has carried reports of a violent attack by armed thugs against you and other organizers at a public rally in Colombo. You narrowly escaped with your life. What happened?
This was going to be the first public meeting organized by the United Peoples Movement, which is an alliance of all political forces and parties who are against the war, against the governments repressive laws, and against hunger.
We got a big response to our posters and expected up to ten thousand people at the rally. Ninety minutes before the meeting started, I was with a few others near the stage. Then there was a noise and we saw more than 100 people storming onto the stage, smash[ing] the speaker system and all the equipment.
Mervyn da Silva, a deputy minister, was leading the gang. I was starting to ask him what they were doing there and a group of his crowd started to shout Thats him! and chase me. I managed to escape by running through the car park and into a nearby supermarket. I entered it and the gangsters started to smash windows and follow me. I got into another shop and that way I was able to escape and save my life.
You said a deputy minister was leading the gang why do you think someone close to the government was leading it?
The government is very worried about us ever since the new president, Rajapakse, was inaugurated at the end of 2005. At that time, when I had been the [presidential] candidate of the USP and come in third, we had warned Rajapakse that if he continued along the road of chauvinism and war, we would organize mass resistance. I think the government planned to attack this meeting because of our efforts in organizing the movement against repression and hunger.
What is the situation for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka?
The situation in the North, where they are a majority, is terrible. There is huge poverty, the prices are five times higher than normal, and there is hunger. Especially for the children and elderly, the situation is dire. There is no medicine.
What can people internationally do to concretely support your struggle against repression?
I think the international working class can play an important role to stop this genocidal war and the repressive measures of the Sri Lankan government.
My name is on a death list issued by communal forces, together with 21 other names. It is a very serious situation. Support is needed by people sending protest letters to the government to stop this and to conduct a campaign to make public the attacks on democratic rights and the death threats being made.
Send protests to the office of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse ([email protected]). Send copies to c/o Siritunga Jayasuriya ([email protected]) and also to the CWI who are coordinating the campaign outside Sri Lanka ([email protected])
Read the full interview on-line at: http://www.socialistworld.net/eng/2007/01/15srilanka.html