Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake, some people say it is time that you and your party, the JVP, were given a chance as all others have failed us, whist others point out that there is hardly a  difference between you and the others in the corrupt bunch of politicians we are blessed with. As pointed out by many political commentators, your group is as hypocritical and self-serving as the others but some say that you are not as corrupt; but you have not been in power to test your incorruptibility. After all, it is power that corrupts!

Although I do not wish to elaborate on these, the main purpose of this appeal being highlighting an atrocity committed on my family, I wish to highlight one major policy problem. Though your website states: “JVP is a political party capable of making the necessary changes in the party according to the new knowledge acquired by the world and according to the local and global political conditions”, your homepage contains very concerning statements including the following:

“55. This is the era of proletarian socialist revolution where the means of production is converted to social property. The production of commodities is evicted by direct social production led by the mass of class-conscious proletariat voluntarily assembled. The socialist revolution in Sri Lanka will eliminate the private ownership of property and abolish the basis of class division in society, thus putting an end to the process of exploitation of man by man, and thereby man finally liberated.”

I admit policies can change, perhaps this being one of them, but past atrocities cannot be erased. They have to be admitted to be excused. In fact, I was prompted to write this after reading the excellent editorial “Farewell to democracy” (The Island, 16 February) wherein it is stated: “If only the JVP had respected the people’s franchise in the late 1980s, when it unleashed savage terror to scuttle elections, and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people who dared exercise their legitimate political rights. It obviously feels no remorse for its past crimes. The least it can do to make the discerning public take its much-avowed commitment to democracy seriously is to tender an unqualified apology for its barbaric violence and savage attempts to disrupt elections during its second reign of terror (1987-89)”

One of the victims of the JVP’s savagery was one of my beloved uncles. He was one of the thousands of innocent men and women mercilessly slaughtered by the JVP.

Dinitial Elian Wijayawardhana, often referred to as DEW, was the youngest of the four children of Kotawila Vithanage Don Juwanis Wijayawardhana and Pasdunkorale Arachchige Dona Lucie Darlina Gunawardane, the eldest being my father Charles Justin with two sisters in between, Josephine Milfred and Sophia Eugene. He was born on 20 December 1911 in Godagama, Matara and had his primary education in Nupe CC School and secondary education in Rahula College, Matara. He was the first in our families to go to university. He gained admission to the University of Colombo as an adult student around the age of 35, and obtained a BA (Hons) degree. His contemporaries at the university were Prof Vinnie Vtharana, Dr Edwin Ariyadasa and Mr B.P. Ariyawansa, who succeeded Mr D J Kumarage as the principal of Rahula College, Matara.

My uncle devoted his entire life to teaching, mostly at Rahula College, retiring as a Vice Principal in 1970, at the age of 59 due to lowering of retirement age by the then United Front government. He took an active part in Sarvodaya movement organising Shramadana campaigns taking senior students during holidays, all over the country including Jaffna and Batticaloa. He lived in Weliweriya area of Matara town and was the president of Weliweriya Welfare Society and president of Pushparama Temple Dayaka Sabha.

Although not even a teenager then, I remember his marriage very well, as it happened during the time of the infamous Hartal to protest against the increase of price of rice. It was meant to be only on 12 August 1953, it extended to the next few days. He was killed on the 10 February 1989, at the age of 78 years by the JVP goons. His crime? Canvassing for his nephew, my brother Ranjan, who was contesting the 1989 general election from the Matara District! He was canvassing in the Hakmana area and visited the house of Vitharana Iskole Mahaththaya (teacher) in Gangodagama. After lunch, he left on a bicycle lent by them to meet Gunawardane Thepal Nona’s (post mistress) family in Poththewela. We learnt that he had been stabbed to death for upholding democracy!

AKD! I have given all the details so that I leave no room for doubt. I am sure there are many other families who lost their loved ones at the hands of the JVP goons. To ameliorate their pain, which has not reduced over years, there is one thing you can do. Own up to the past and tender an unqualified apology as a start. If you cannot muster the courage to do so, you cannot call yourself a guardian of democracy and you are no leader!