February 15, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 26, 1428

COLOMBO: As the government contemplates entertaining more members of the Opposition United National Party (UNP) who are likely to cross over shortly to the UPFA, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is readying to become the main Opposition Party in the country.

The JVP, with its strength of 38 parliamentarians have already elected a member who will become the Opposition Leader if the UNP which at present has 43 members is drained below the JVP numbers, political sources said.

Government officials said at least eight more UNP parliamentarians have expressed ‘definite interest’ in switching over to the ruling UPFA.

Informed sources say President Mahinda Rajapakse is not averse to accommodating more UNP members, in addition to the 25 Opposition parliamentarians who joined the government recently.

If the JVP emerges as the main opposition then the vociferous anti-LTTE propaganda secretary of the JVP, Wimal Weerawansa, will be the leader of opposition, JVP sources indicated.

Meanwhile, in a statement to the media, the JVP criticised President Mahinda Rajapakse over his decision last Friday to sack his critics, Ports Minister Mangala Samaraweera and non-Cabinet ranker Sripathy Sooriyaarachchi of their portfolios. The JVP was however silent about the sacking of Minister Anura Bandaranaike, brother of former President Chandrika Kumaratunge. Bandaranaike who held the portfolio as Minister of National Heritage had joined Samaraweera and Sooriyaarachchi in criticising President Rajapakse’s luring of UNP members with Ministerial posts resulting in the jumbo Council of Ministers totaling to 108 members.

Reports indicated on Wednesday that the three sacked ministers have decided to appeal to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) this week against the denial of adequate security.

Soon after President Mahinda Rajapakse dismissed Ministers Anura Bandaranaike, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi from office, the special ministerial security provided to them was withdrawn and the former ministers are to complain to the Human Rights Commission that they are likely targets for the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Minister Sripathi Sooriyarachchi last year narrowly escaped an LTTE bomb attack targeting him.

Amidst the new tensions surrounding the government after the sudden dismissing of the three ministers, the JVP is scheduled to go on an offensive against President Mahinda Rajapakse for allegedly violating his public policy statement, known as the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’.

Despite Rajapakse going on a steady onslaught against the LTTE, the JVP accuses the president of ‘leaning’ towards a federal political solution instead of a unitary one, as spelt out in Rajapakse’s policy statement.

The JVP last December walked out of an All Parties Representative Conference (APRC) which was deliberating a solution to the ethnic conflict, on the grounds that the report submitted by a panel of experts was biased towards the LTTE and the rebel cause of a separate Tamil State.

Now, stepping up its campaign against the UPFA the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is to hold a series of meetings in the South of the country condemning the government for abandoning the Mahinda Chinthanaya principles.

However, in a bid to strengthen his camp, political sources say President Mahinda Rajapakse is likely to bestow more ministerial positions to the new UNP dissidents who are soon expected to join the government, a move that will incense the JVP that has already gone on record calling the 54 member cabinet ‘a joke’.

Despite general fears that the Marxists will attempt to prevent any political solution to the ethnic conflict, analysts say the party would not have the strength to prevent any changes to the constitution.

“The JVP would be getting a political boost if it emerges as the opposition”, says Dr Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu, head of the Colombo based think-tank, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

Peace lobbyists say the JVP could influence the general public in the event of a referendum being held by the government to decide on a political solution.