The JVP’s Jaundice: Inclination To Reactionary Politics

By Chaminda Weerawardhana –December 16, 2015

Dr Chaminda Weerawardhana

In an interview with an English language newspaper, JVP’s Nalinda Jayathissa MP has made a statement that makes one question the MP’s (and given its reputation of strict discipline, verification and vetting processes, the JVP’s) understanding of what progressive politics of the left really entails in the present-day world. When questioned on his perceptions on LGBTQI rights, the MP quips:

“I am totally against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual [sic] (LGBT) rights. This is not the need of the human being. We need a future generation. Scientific experiments reveal that this kind of emotions come out due to stress. When people go through stressful periods or are in such environments, unnatural feelings come out. For example, we do not see this behaviour when they are living in the wild. However, if they are caged, we would see this behaviour. I believe in marriage between man and woman. Same sex marriage is unnatural. It is against the evolution of the human being”.

The immaturity of these simply farcical claims, in a newspaper interview that carries the by-line “Extreme no to extremism” (also a quote from Jayathissa), is graspable to anybody with a few functioning braincells.

The JVP: a new path forward?

After its own moments of crisis and tumultuous hardship, the JVP, under its present leadership, is only beginning to emerge as a party that commands support from a broad cross-section of the electorate, beyond its so-called ‘traditional’ vote base. This trend was evident in the 2015 general election campaign, when the JVP was endorsed by a large number of academics, professionals and expatriates, and many of them were supporting the JVP for the first time.

In electoral terms, the foremost challenge before the JVP today is that of maintaining that momentum, moving along a progressive path and upholding a discourse of inclusion. The term ‘inclusion’, in this case, ought to extend to all areas of policy, from the ethno-national question to the national economy and anti-corruption, to civil liberties and public policy. A core component in the process of crafting a progressive and inclusive agenda is that of observing, and developing relationships with genuine political movements of the left in the global South as well as the North, engaging in mutual learning, un-learning and ensuring that every segment of the Sri Lankan electorate – across boundaries of religion, ethnicity, caste, class, gender, political background, and sexual orientation, can find a place of acceptance and appreciation in the JVP. A viable political movement of the left is one that stands and fights for, and constantly defends the erstwhile rights of marginalised communities. In the Sri Lankan context, the JVP made significant progresses in the post-war phase by admitting its lack of concern for war-affected civilians, especially during the latter stages of the war, and in 2014, standing resolutely with the Sri Lankan Muslim community in the face of government-sponsored Sinhala nationalist extremist agitation.

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