A group of opposition parties that first came together to condemn the arrest of former President and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in August, announced plans this week to hold a joint anti-government rally in Nugegoda on November 21. The rally will be titled Maha Jana Handa (The Voice of the People). The parties involved, which include the UNP, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led People’s Alliance (PA) and the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), this week called on all those who are opposed to the “anti-democratic” actions of the JVP/NPP government to converge at Nugegoda on that date in a show of force.
The press conference held on Monday to announce the joint opposition rally was notable for the very noticeable absence of any representative from the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). While the party had been involved in early talks with the other opposition parties about forming a common front in the days following Mr. Wickremesinghe’s arrest and subsequent release on bail, the discussions have failed to progress, except for separate talks aimed at a potential reunification between the UNP and SJB. Other party leaders in attendance at Monday’s press conference expressed hope that the SJB will still take part in the upcoming rally.
There were two schools of thought within the SJB on whether to attend the rally or not, with some in the party being of the view that the SJB, as the main party in the opposition, needs to be in attendance, at least by sending one or more representatives. However, others argued that taking the same stage with political parties who were so politically and ideologically opposed to what the SJB stood for would alienate its core supporter base. In the end, the latter faction won out, with the party deciding not to attend.
For some time, since that August date, the SJB leader Sajith Premadasa was showing some reluctance in this exercise. Party insiders who were pressing him to join in thought Mr. Premadasa was concerned for one thing, that his leadership as the mainstream Opposition Leader in the country would get diluted. On the other, that SJB was better off with an identity of its own rather than one mixed with a cabal. In public he would say that they were supporting a joint opposition alliance “under the leadership of the SJB”. But since that pronoucement, the SJB went silent for a week and now come up with this decision.
“We have decided that we won’t be attending (the rally),” SJB Colombo District MP S.M. Marikkar says when asked about the SJB’s decision. “We have to maintain our identity. Though these other parties and we all oppose the government, our political ideologies are different and we need to maintain our own identity.”
Mr. Marikkar also ruled out the party sending any representatives to the rally as well, but said the SJB is still talking to opposition parties about ‘various matters’. “Nevertheless, this is a purely political event and no one from the SJB will be attending it”, which sounded odd as, if not a political event, what else is it.
It is not just the SJB has decided not to attend the rally. Both the Sarvajana Balaya led by MP Dilith Jayaweera and National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa have indicated they will also not be in attendance. The wheels of the joint opposition alliance were coming off already. Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Weerawansa left the possibility open for the NFF to still take part, stating it was in ongoing talks with the other opposition parties, but stressed the parties must first agree on what he called ‘key issues’ before taking the same stage. These included an alternate policy to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) directed economic programme followed by the government; the LGBTQ promotion and ‘cultural assault’ on local values; and the move to set up an Independent Prosecutor’s Office to “hunt war heroes” as part of the UN resolution to which the government agreed to in Geneva, Mr. Weerawansa claimed. “Without presenting a specific opinion regarding these decisive issues, how can we take the same stage and make a speech? That is the problem here. We are still talking about this problem and if we can arrive at a solution before the rally, we will be in attendance. Otherwise, we will not attend.”
The Sarvajana Balaya meanwhile, has questioned as to who is really behind the efforts to set up a coalition of opposition parties. The party’s newly appointed Head of National Operations, former MP Madura Vithanage claimed there were elements within those parties who were relaying everything discussed during the meetings of the alliance of opposition parties back to the government; a incredible accusation to make. Addressing a media briefing, Mr. Vithanage said that his party had no interest in being part of a ‘so-called joint opposition’ that was functioning as a cat’s paw of the government. He also said any opposition group, while criticising the government, must also present their future plan on how they are going to rebuild the country.
Those who are organising the November 21 public rally however threw back the accusations asking; “who indeed, maybe, the government’s cats paw”, and insist that the concerns raised by other parties are unfounded.
There appears to be a misconception that the parties who are holding the rally on November 21 will form some sort of ‘joint opposition’ though this is not the case, People’s Alliance (PA) leader and former Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa insisted. “Some people say we will have to have a programme to present to the people, which is also wrong because we are not talking about a programme. What we are trying to do is to get as many opposition parties as possible together to protest against the government’s policies towards governance, the economy, and turning the country into a one-party state.”
Mr. Yapa said opposition parties only wanted to explain to the public that the NPP government has failed and they should take note of it. He also stressed that the parties have not put forward anyone who will act as the “leader” of their anti-government efforts. “We invited everyone so they can participate and air their views against the policy of the government. It is a completely non-violent, democratic exercise. We have no hidden agendas and there is no one behind the scenes,” the politician claimed.
The opposition parties have no intention of toppling the government, which would be an impossible feat given it has only been in power for a year and has an overwhelming parliamentary majority and the executive presidency, concedes Mr. Yapa. “We want to get as many opposition parties as possible to unite for a common cause. They can go their separate ways when an election comes. We are not objecting to that. But people expect us to unite as a front to oppose the unjustifiable decisions taken by the government.”
With the SJB and several other parties likely to be absent, the parties that announced the ambitious mass rally in Nugegoda now have a significant challenge on their hands to prove they can attract a large crowd even without the country’s main opposition party. The call was for all those who opposed the government to converge on Nugegoda on November 21. A small crowd will no doubt cause serious damage to their claim that a large segment of the population opposes the government. A large crowd however, can prove a point that smaller opposition parties can also draw on support even without the aid of the main opposition parties, and may even push these parties to reconsider their reluctance to enter a common programme. Whether the elements will be kind to the organisers given the recent weather conditions is too early to say.