emse232

Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

February 2005 Volume 8 - Number 1

Tsunami Disaster Updates...

Leftists party gives tsunami relief and earns populous support

By Keenon M. James

The government of Sri Lanka was overwhelmed by the devastation along the coastline and inward as a result of the tsunami. To add to the chaos, 90 government building and facilities were destroyed and rendered useless for coordinating relief and response efforts. In the midst of the devastation, one Sri Lankan political party is gaining momentum and support from groups that once shunned the party’s agenda. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is a disciplined and once powerful and brutal Marxist political organization. The tsunami is proving to be the vehicle for the party’s popular comeback.

The JVP, whose full name means People’s Liberation Front, may gain the most political capital from the tsunami. Once crushed by the Army after an armed uprising to institute a utopian society, the JVP is reemerging and with great support. The tsunami brought immediate focus to the political struggle between the national government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LITE). The two fighting parties continued their disputes and power struggle while grief stricken Sri Lankans pleaded for government assistance. The JVP however, moved to assist, aid and feed. The political party rallied its members and supporters to assist any and everyone they could. The tsunami handed the JVP the perfect populist issue. In the south and east, the movement put on an extraordinary show of organizational readiness, in the midst of a sudden tragedy. As Sri Lankans walked about stunned following the tsunami and as federal officials were absent during the nation’s worst disaster, the JVP was in full force on the streets with an aid plan and advertising campaign that would make Washington lobbyist envious. Flatbed trucks packed with JVP members raced to the coastline to organize crowds and begin the recovery efforts. They cleared debris, took notes, cooked food and delivered clean drinking water. Most significant was the presence of the JVP inside Buddhists temples. JVP members stopped at the temples to assist monks and those who had gone to the temple for refuge.

The Buddhist monks have never been great supporters of the JVP movement partly because of the organizations violent past. The two groups had been powerful opponents in the nation’s peace talks. This new JVP movement is showing the Buddhist community, JVP really has changed its agenda. In the early 1990’s, 20 % of Sri Lankan monks supported the JVP. Today, nearly 75 % of the monks are estimated to be supporters of the JVP. The support of the Buddhist community and their followers could be exactly what the JVP needs to gain seats in the national parliament. One Western diplomat said, "When the JVP holds a rally, they don't pay anyone. They arrive in lock step, they are efficient, and they get things done. When they work a rural area, they don't pay a quick visit and leave. They sit with the farmers and have tea, and listen."

Sources: www.csmonitor.com/2005/0114/p01s03-wosc.html