By Rathindra Kuruwita

The independent group of MPs who broke away from the SLPP a few months ago and are to form a new coalition on Sunday would never work with the Rajapaksas again, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka Dr. G. Weerasinghe said.

“Rajapaksas do not have any place in our politics hereafter,” he said.

According to Dr. Weerasinghe the coalition to be formed will go flat out to capture power. The coalition will start an outreach campaign immediately and will educate the people on their policies before the next election, he said.

“We already have a policy document,” he said.

“These are all SLPP constituents. Actually, we came together during the debate on the 20th amendment. This was one of the first activities of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government. The CPSL believed that the 19th amendment should not be changed significantly. We wrote to the President saying that apart from changing the provision which prevented the President from holding any post, the 19A must not be tinkered greatly. The other changes that the President wanted should be introduced via a new constitution. During the internal discussions we found that these other parties too were not happy about 20A”, he said.

The CPSL General Secretary added that the same parties agreed on the economic and political deterioration under the Rajapaksa administration. When Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Vasudeva Nanayakkara took up these issues they were told that Basil Rajapaksa would look after the economy and others didn’t have to worry about it, Dr. Weerasinghe said.

“Then we held an event in March and put forth a set of proposals called “Mulu ratama, hari magata” (Let’stake the country down the right path.) We presented that to the government and the country. Wimal and Udaya were sacked as ministers the following day itself. We also came together over the Kotelawala Defence University issue as we opposed the decision to create parallel education systems”, he said.

The Aragalaya movement came about because Gotabaya Rajapaksa didn’t listen to their proposal to establish an all-party interim government, Dr. Weerasinghe said.

“The plan was to stabilise the country with the support of all and go for an election within a year. The SLFP agreed and if there a genuine effort had been made even the Opposition would have come on board. However, Gotabaya acted slowly and the Aragalaya grew in strength. After the attacks on protesters on 09 May, it was obvious that Gotabaya wouldn’t be able to establish an all-party interim government.

“Then Ranil came to power in July. When this was happening, we were in the opposition as an independent group”, he said.

There is no longer a point in remaining an independent group, he said. These parties agree on economic policy. The parties agree that the country is facing this catastrophe because of the disastrous polices we have been following in the last four decades, he said.

“We oppose neo-liberal economic policies. We have become an importing economy. We have deindustrialized. How do we industrialise again? We have a common understanding. We also have an agreement on the way forward.

We agree that we have to work with the world, but in the long term, we have to resolve this crisis on our own, “he said.

The alliance is a coalition of leftist, progressive and anti-imperialist elements, he added. The CPSL General Secretary said. “These are natural allies”, he said.

Dr. Weerasinghe said that there were objective and subjective reasons for a political formulation. The coalition in the offing would not be limited to these parties alone, he said.

“When Dullas Alahapperuma contested as the Presidential candidate, we voted for him. Now, they have come to the opposition. Hopefully, they will start their own political party and that will be the time when we start holding discussions with them”, he said.

Dr. Weerasinghe said that in the coalition to be formed all parties will have equal power where decision-making was concerned. In past coalitions, one dominant party held 51% of executive committee seats, which allowed them to bulldoze others. “So, this is a democratic alliance. We also have agreed on a policy manifesto. We will sign this on Sunday, “he said.

The CPSL General Secretary said that they were also open to discussions with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Frontline Socialist Party (FSP).

“The FSP might have a different strategy at the moment. The JVP of course are framing themselves as a serious force to win power. Only time will tell us and might give us the opportunity to work together. We are for a broader alliance, which should give an alternative path to the current economic policies”, he said.

The group includes former SLPP ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Wimal Weerawansa (Jathika Nidahas Peramuna) and Udaya Gammanpila (Pivithuru Hela Urumaya).

The new alliance will be launched at the National Youth Services Council, Maharagama, at 3 pm on Sunday with the participation of rebel members. The CP, LSSP and Yuthukama Jathika Sanvidhanaya, too, are members of the coalition.