Let’s talk about me

I was 10 years old when I watched people being burned alive in Black July. I saw houses burned, cars burned, people burned. Tends to leave a mark.

I was “part” of three bombs. The Joint Operations Command bomb, where I sustained a very minor injury from a sliver of glass. The Nugegoda No Limit bombing, which happened near The Linux Centre, where I helped with the ingured. The Piliyandala Bus Bomb which I missed because I fell asleep, instead of taking the bus.

I was in the procession for Lalith Athulathmudali’s funeral, and - for my sins - the aftermath. I saw a lot of what the Ranasinghe Premadasa government did to harass and provoke the mourners.

And I was 16 years old when the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front, JVP) had their “Glorious” Second Revolution (මහා දෙවැනි කැරැල්ල). I remember being chased out of class by their supporters. And we ran off because it was fun to be able to cut school. I remember the bheeshana kaalaya (“the terror times”) when the JVP would make demands of the people and kill them for not complying. And the fear when Government-sponsored vigilante death squads would travel the streets with impunity, abducting anyone they thought may be involved with the JVP.

I have, in the word of the Great One, seen some shit.

Let’s talk about the JVP

It started off as a Communist party, went Marxist, then Maoist, but most of all, it was Revolutionary. They even had/have their own military wing. Their policies are Left-wing, but their rhetoric is right-wing, catering to and appealing to the nationalist Sinhalese.

In 1971, they decided to have an armed revolution, and took over many areas of the South. Not many civilians died, but it’s estimated 5,000 people died (officially, it’s 1,200). They came pretty close to winning, too, If a few things had worked out the way they planned, Sri Lanka would be a very different place.

According to family legend, some of my family were also involved. But we don’t talk about that … much.

Then there was the Second Revolution. This one, I was around for. I remember the schools being raided by the JVP. I remember the Time of Terror. I remember the attacks of civilians who didn’t follow their, often arbitrary, orders. The people who were killed for simply buying the wrong (aka Government) newspaper. The hartals they organised, that you would have to follow on pain of torture and death, not just to yourself, but also your family. I remember them, I was there, and since my family was middle-class, and my father ran a business, we were definitely directly affected.

Of course, there was an aftermath. The government launched vigilante squads that would just pick you up for “questioning” (torture). And my mother and father were terrified if I left the house, because I was of the age to be a target. I know of a few people in my school year who were disappeared, a few who left the country in fear, and at least one who, it is said, helped his father with the torture.

Let’s talk about AKD

Honestly, I don’t know much about Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It’s not like I follow politics, or even care about him. But as of the past few weeks, I have to know. I read his party manifestos, which look like they were written by AI. Lots of fluff, and little to no substance. But that is not the part that gets me. What gets me is right there in his Wikipedia page. He was born on the 24th of November 1968. Which makes him five years older than me. Wikipedia also states that he was involved with the JVP from his school days, and joined them in 1987, “engaged in full-time political activities from 1987.”

1987, you know, when they JVP’s Second Revolution started. So, he was 19 years old at the time. Then he joined the Politburo of the JVP, in 1998. Just 11 years after joining, he was part of the controllers of the JVP.

So now you have to ask yourself, “How did he manage that?”

The AKD problem

How did he get there? Nobody’s talking. Nobody’s saying anything. I certainly don’t know. But let’s look at the timelines shall we?

He’s a supporter of the JVP from his school days. He joins the JVP just before their Second Revolution. A revolution where they killed many civilians. Where they carried out a reign of terror and terrorism against the civilian population. He joined the University of Peradeniya at some point, and then disappeared from there, reappearing in 1992 to join the University of Kelaniya. The thing is, he had to have done something at that time to get him noticed enough to climb the ranks at speed. Maybe he was just a good organiser, maybe he gave good blowjobs. He may have been famous for saving kittens and delivering food to starving grandmothers.

But he was also of the age of many of the shooters at that time. He was of an age to be a triggerman for the JVP, and there were many innocent people who had the trigger pulled on them. But does this mean he was one? Who knows. All we know, is that at that time, the JVP was a banned terrorist organisation. Being associated with it, let alone belonging to it could get you arrested, and probably tortured, and possibly killed. And in the same vein, the JVP didn’t take people shirking their duties to the cause lightly.

I have pointed out the dots, it’s up to you to connect them. And remember, there is no proof, just speculation. A whole lot of smokescreen, and no fire that we can see.

The AKD connection

And the weirdest part of this election, is that the three main players (out of 39) are all, in some way, involved in the Second Revolution. AKD was part of the JVP at the time, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been accused of being the brains behind the Batalanda Torture Camp, and Ranasinghe Premadasa, who authorised all the extrajudicial killings and death squads, is the father of candidate Sajith Premadasa. Fun isn’t it.

And the vote

So who should you vote for? Fucked if I know. Even I don’t now who to vote for. But please, go vote. And if you’re not intending to cast your vote because all the choices are terrible, please go to the voting centre and cancel your vote, so it doesn’t get cast for you. This looks to be a close election, and every vote they can get will count.

And good luck to us all. Whoever comes, we’ll need it.