This May Day Will Guide The SLFP On A New Path – Duminda Dissanayake

By Camelia Nathaniel

Following are excerpts of the interview;

Q. The SLFP group with the government and those loyal to Mahinda Rajapaksa have organised two separate rallies. Why is the SLFP having two may day rallies?

 

A. We are not aware of such rallies and moreover it is not relevant to us. Our party is not holding two May Day rallies and we are only organising one May day Rally from the SLFP and that will be held at the Samanala grounds in Galle.

 

Q. Don’t you think that being the President if Maithripala Sirisena cant bring the SLFP together, this is clearly a weakness of his?

A. Clearly the fault is not ours. The fault is most definitely with Mahinda Rajapaksa, as being a former President he is flouting all the clauses of the constitution and the laws of the country by his actions. He has also served as the leader of the party and its ironic that he is resorting to such actions that will divide the party.

When there is a clear verdict at an election, then everyone should accept it. However now what he is doing is, trying to cover up his past sins by resorting to a totally contradictory path to the constitution of this country. By this the ones who will fall into great trouble are the people who follow his lead. Hence this is not the weakness of our President Maithripala Sirisena, but the fault of Rajapaksa who has clearly not understood the reality of the current political situation.

 

Q. There are allegations that the SLFP parliamentarians within the UNP-SLFP consensual government, are not acting in a manner that safeguards this status. Being a consensual government how can you forge ahead effectively, with the SLFP members within are seen criticising the government?

A. There is a reason why this allegation is levelled primarily against the SLFP. The main reason is that there is no visible rift within the UNP, but on the contrary there is clearly a rift within the SLFP. One of the main reasons for this allegation is also that it is those SLFP members who are in the joint opposition that are accusing the SLFP members with the government that they are letting down the SLFP supporters and that they are betraying the party. Eventually this allegation falls upon us and we are held responsible and have to provide answers.

However, in spite of these opposition members trying to bring us down, there is no issue and we will face these criticisms and forge forward. There is no harm done by this cheap talk to the coalition government and we will prove our alliance is strong at the next local government elections. We have a proper plan to win the votes of the people in the rural areas as well and just like every other party, we will do our best to make sure the SLFP and the government emerges victorious at the next LG elections. During the term of Mahinda Rajapaksa, no one dared ask such questions or criticise the government as they knew the consequences. The reason for this is clear and it is evident that there is democracy in the country at this point. If anyone spoke like this during the tenure Rajapaksa was the leader of the party, the very next day those persons will have to face punishment. Noone was allowed to deviate from his assigned path and if they did the punishment was harsh. Even the people of the country dared not open their mouth against the Rajapaksa regime at the time, for fear of having to face the consequences. However, now everyone is very critical of the present government as we believe in true democracy. Given the amount of obstacles we have to face, sometimes we wonder if total democracy is practical.

 

Q. Every party has their own code of conduct rules and constitution. But why isn’t the SLFP acting against those who flout these rules and the party constitution?

A. Now we are ready to implement the rules of the party very strictly, because otherwise the party members are taking our leniency as a weakness.  Therefore we are compelled to implement the party rules even if we don’t want to.

 

Q. Although the May Day is all about the labour force and their struggle to gain their rights, today we see that it has been politicised. Why?

A. Yes this is wrong. Some politicians and leaders are trying to use this May Day to show their power and might. Even the SLFP has acted in this manner in the past. However, this time there has been a change within the party and the party’s May Day organising committee leadership has been given to the party labour leader Lesley Devendra. As a political party we have taken the right step this labour day by giving the leadership to a labour leader and allowing him to organise the May Day activities in a manner that will highlight the needs of the workers. Normally it is always a Minister within the ruling party that takes the leadership of the May Day committee, but under the patronage of the President, this year we have made the change in order to give the right to the workers as it is their day.

The current SLFP under the leadership of President Sirisena is on a corrective path to right the wrongs that were done in the past. These changes may not always be evident to the people, but these changes are happening and the country will be able to see the results of these changes in a short period of time and then they will understand. We have even included SLFP members such as Kumara Welgama, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, and Pavithra Wanniarachchi in this committee.

 

Q. Do you think these above mentioned members will in fact attend your rally in Galle, just because they were appointed to the committee?

A. The SLFP as a party will hold only one May Day Rally. We have extended our hands by including these members of the opposition into even the organising committee. If they do not attend, this clearly shows that they are not interested in correcting the faults of the party and that they are intent on splitting up the party.

 

Q. Bandula Gunawardena has said that disciplinary action should be taken against you for entrusting the party responsibilities to someone else while Gunawardena is the party organiser for the Homagama electorate. Is this allegation true?

A. I must be thankful to Gunawardena for asking for an investigation to be conducted and now a comprehensive investigation into this matter will be conducted. Our party is one that disperses responsibility to all members of the party and not just the organisers. When Gunawardena has failed to carry out the party responsibilities like organising seminars and keeping the voters posted on the happenings within the party, then we are compelled to entrust these duties to others in the electorate. I ask Gunawardena what else he has done from January to date, other than participating in a few meetings, to educate the voters on the new reorganised party strategies. Its good that he has asked for an investigation, as then the real reasons can come to light.

 

Q.  Why is the government delaying the Local Government elections?

A. No we are certainly not delaying the elections delib  erately but there are issues with the delimitation. Once the delimitation issues are sorted out the elections will definitely be held without delay.

 

Q. In that case why did the government disburse the LG bodies, if you were not sure how long the delimitation would take?

A. Well we were under the impression that this task could be done within three months. The President extended the term of the LG bodies by another three months, but the complications in the delimitation process was the hitch.

 

Q. Was the VAT increased to 15% and the burden put on the people because this government was not able to achieve their economic goals?

A. There were a number of complaints with regard to the taxes and VAT even during the previous regime. However, now the two main parties have got together and they are trying to correct the wrongs that were done in the past and this may not be readily acceptable to all.

Taxes are required for the smooth functioning of a country and therefore we are having talks with the professionals of this country and we are trying to find a mechanism that will be beneficial to everyone in the country. However taxes are a vital part of the country’s economy and without taxes we cannot run the country.