Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa charged that the two major parties were forming alliances purely for political gain and not to better the country. Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning: Since Independence, Sri Lankan political parties have formed coalitions and alliances to contest elections. Aren’t the major political parties strong enough to contest independently and win? After 1956, a culture of forming political alliances commenced. The tradition was initiated by the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and is still practised today. These alliances were formed because the major parties could not win an election, so they joined hands with smaller parties to garner more votes. The objective of these alliances was purely political gain while the aspirations and betterment of the country were not part of the criteria for forming these alliances. That is why several years after an election, these alliances splintered. Both major political parties continuously pledge support for the minority cause, but come election time, both parties seek out alliances with minority parties to ensure the minority vote. Can major parties survive without minority parties and vice versa? The aim of these minority parties is to sell the minority voter base to a major party during an election and then acquire ministerial portfolios for themselves. Political parties representing the estate sector, the Tamil people, and Muslim people have established their political parties to sell their minority voter base to major parties. These minority parties are yet to fulfil the promises and pledges made to people they represent. For example, since the establishment of the estate sector political parties, these parties have helped the two major parties form governments. But even now, the conditions and lives of the plantation sector communities have remained unchanged. They still live in line rooms, with no access to proper water or sanitary facilities, roads leading to their villages are not even fit for animals to use, and these parties have failed to increase the daily wage of the plantation workers to Rs. 1,000. So while the plantation community suffers to this day, the politicians representing the community are living happily as ministers of the Government. The Muslim and Tamil parties in the Government have done this as well. The parties representing the Muslim community have always been part of a government, but none of them were able to protect or safeguard their people during the incidents in Beruwala, Ampara, Gintota, Digana, Minuwangoda, or Wariyapola in the last few years. Have victorious political alliances been able to successfully implement their joint policies or would forming alliances adulterate the policies of each individual party in an alliance? What we have in Sri Lanka is a political culture where political alliances are formed to serve one individual’s purpose and the policies are formulated to ensure the alliance wins. After the election is won, the alliance is forgotten along with its policies. In 1956, Mr. (S.W.R.D.) Bandaranaike formed a policy to win an election; in 1970, Sirimavo Bandaranaike formed an alliance and formulated policies to win an election; in 1994, an alliance was formed to ensure victory for Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and they formulated policies to that end; in 2015, we saw the same with Ranil Wickremesinghe. Nationalism has taken the forefront in politics, especially in the last decade. Should we fear the formation of political alliances based mainly on racial and ethnic policies? Political parties that depend on being elected to gain power must not limit themselves to representing only a particular community based on religion, race, caste, or any other factor. A political party must represent all aspects of Sri Lankan society. In the last decade, nationalism became the main slogan on an election stage. All these so-called nationalists were silent when in 1987, the Indo-Lanka Agreement was signed and we were invaded by the Indian Peace Keeping Force; in 2002, when Ranil Wickremesinghe entered into an agreement with the LTTE to separate the North and East; when in 1988, the Northern and Eastern Provinces were merged. During all these incidents, only the JVP acted as true patriots. Look at today’s so-called nationalists – a US citizen, Basil Rajapaksa trying to put together an alliance to form the next Government with someone like Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who refused to give up his citizenship until he was promised the presidential candidacy. So it is clear that all these nationalists are fakes. What is your take on the political alliances proposed for the upcoming elections? The alliance the United National Front (UNF) is struggling to set up with much infighting and squabbling, is not a new alliance. It is to consist of Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Arjuna Ranatunga, Champika Ranawaka, Mano Ganesan, (Palani) Digambaram, (Rauff) Hakeem, and (Rishad) Bathiudeen who have been part of this Government for the past five years. It is the same group with a new name. The Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) is attempting to form an alliance with a number of smaller parties. These two groups are forming alliances not to develop the country but as a measure to grab power by any means necessary. The country needs a broad alliance based on policies that will develop the country, and we will bring about such an alliance.(SG)