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PA MPs oppose deal with JVP

Two parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) are collecting signatures for a petition to be presented to President Chandrika Kumaratunga urging her not to form an alliance with the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) without consulting the party membership.

MPs Bharatha Laksh- man Premachandra and Chandana Kathriarachchi are spearheading the campaign and feel confident that they could muster about 60 signatures, more than half the strength of the People's Alliance parliamentary group of which the SLFP is the main constituent party.

The MPs claim that any alliance with the JVP would ensure further erosion of the SLFP's political identity as the country's second largest political force and would eventually be hijacked by the Marxists who are doing their utmost to build a stronger power base.

Kathriarachchi on Friday said that he was supportive of such an alliance until recently, but changed his mind after realising that the JVP was after power and intended using the SLFP as a means to get there.

Both MPs question the bona fides of the JVP and claim that the Marxist party is now busy giving deadlines and ultimatums to the SLFP and trying to wrest control of the party. The parliamentarians were referring to the JVP's insistence on dissolution of parliament and signing an agreement with them at a deadline set by the JVP.

Both parliamentarians feel that a general election at this time would help only extremist elements like the LTTE and the JVP. They fear that the JVP's attempt at power grabbing is becoming manifest with the reds increasing pressure on the SLFP to sign an agreement.

They feel that the SLFP should not fall prey to such overt efforts at hijacking the party and are confident that the majority of the SLFP parliamentarians, though silent, did not favour an alliance with the JVP.

Last week, PA Spokesman Dr. Sarath Amunugama confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed on January 21.

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