AKD ready to defeat Ranil Wickremesinghe’s oppressive regime

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake

• Says a Govt. that has been rejected by people cannot rebuild it Accuses Govt. of attempting to come out of the crisis by further oppressing country’s people
• Claims people are not prepared to become prisoners through oppressive measures and will rise against rulers
• Says JVP is ready to lead them in their fight and defeat current regime

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday declared the party is prepared to awaken the Sri Lankan people against the oppressive regime of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Addressing the party’s May Day rally held in Colombo yesterday, the JVP Leader said it is time that the country’s power changes hands from the political classes to the common man. Dissanayake accused the Government of Wickremesinghe of attempting to bring in laws to suppress the people such as the proposed Anti-Terror Bill to silence and scare them. “But before the people every oppressive legislation passed with the support of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP group will be mere paper,” he said. He said the country’s people are not prepared to become prisoners in an outdoor prison created by Wickremesinghe and the JVP will lead the people against the oppressive regime and defeat it. “For this, we need the support of all communities in the country,” he said.

Highlighting the Government’s efforts to restructure domestic debt, Dissanayake accused the Government of curtailing the wealth of the country’s people and workers. The JVP Leader explained that State banks including the Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank have given out loans to the Government as well as the Employee Provident Fund and the Employee Trust Fund. He said the IMF’s suggestion now is to restructure this debt which contains the wealth of the people in the form of deposits. He also said the IMF has proposed to cut down expenditures for health and education as well as social welfare. “They destroyed the people’s lives with their erroneous economic policies. Now they are oppressing the people once more to come out of this crisis,” he alleged. The JVP Leader said the people will not tolerate this and will rise against the Government.

Dissanayake said the country has now reached an important milestone and is on the verge of a critical power struggle. “We must win this,” he said. He claimed the notion that the current Government can rebuild this country is a fallacy and said it is a Government that has been rejected by the country’s farmers, fishermen, private and State employees, youth, industrialists and others.

“To rebuild the Government must have a close connection with the people. Can this Government that has been rejected by the people do this?” he asked. He said the people are with the JVP and therefore it will be the party to rebuild the country. Commenting further on the IMF, Dissanayake said this is not a new path as claimed by Wickremesinghe. He noted these solutions have been tried and tested before as well, with their results managing to devastate local enterprises and forcing Sri Lanka to import essentials and other necessities.

The rally was also addressed by JVP Politburo Member and JVP-led Trade Union Centre President K.D. Lalkantha, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva and Socialist Youth Union (SYU) National Organiser Eranga Gunasekara.