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HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND DEMONSTRATORS TELL RANIL’S GOVT. THAT DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED FOR PEACE

Top, left to right The Tamil community in Maradana paid their respects to Wimal Weerawansa By presenting a Porwa when they received the five day protest march. Leading author Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera receives the protest march By greeting Wimal Weerawansa. MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena And Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero are also seen in the picture Bottom, left to right Sea of heads' at the Lipton Circus This AFP picture show the five day mammoth protest rally against the government Passing through a Colombo street (Photos by: jvpsrilanka.com and AFP)

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

October 03.09.25 AM: Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero, a leader of the Patriotic National Movement, that eventually became an alliance of most opposition and Buddhist groups in the country said at the concluding rally of hundreds of thousand protesters of a tireless five day march from Kandy to Colombo that he was warning the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe and his foreign masters that the majority of the people of Sri Lanka would not allow him to divide the country in the name of peace.

Independent observers described the concluding rally as a “sea of heads” and “a record crowd of hundreds of thousand people” that sent a clear warning to the government, its foreign collaborators Norway and its Western sponsors and the LTTE that nothing would be allowed by the people of the country that would threaten the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, its independence and the sovereignty of the country that gained independence from Britain in 1948.

Venerable Elle Gunawansa further said thousands of Buddhist monks were ready even to sacrifice their lives to protect the motherland from the above threatening elements and protect its sovereignty that existed for thousands of years except for relatively brief periods when it was broken by foreign imperial powers.

Wimal Weerawansa, of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna who became the live wire of the five day national protest tirelessly giving leadership to it said that the march and the rally should send a clear message to the neo-colonialists who have publicly become the leadership of the Ranil Wickremesinghe that the people of Sri Lanka would not tolerate nothing of that sort. . The hundreds of thousand natives of this country were gathered here to tell the neo-colonialists that none of them would be welcome here in Sri Lanka and declare they were ready to gain their freedom at the risk of their lives, Weerawansa said. He said countries like India, Brazil , China not giving up their national independence to satisfy the United States although they were for liberalization of their economies from state control. Criticizing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for what he described as his shameless speech at the United Nations supporting the imperialist invasion of the defenseless small nation called Iraq, on a ruse that it possessed weapons of mass destruction which was found to be untrue even by the country men of the USA and UK, he said Sri Lanka had taken the step of an act without the least amount of self respect that had made the country the pariah of the international community. As the next step, he might send our troops to fight Iraqis, like he sent housemaids to the Arab world. Ranil Wickremesinghe had done something so disastrous of making the traditional Arab friends enemies of the nation and insulted the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Weerawansa said, the common people would never pardon this shameless man for his systematic steps to betray the country’s independence that made the island nation worse than a banana republic.

Weerawansa said that the JVP did not want to change governments for the sake of power but to do some constructive change for the benefit of the masses.

Former Speaker Anura Bandaranaike, addressing the mammoth crowd said although there was a temporary set back of the talks to build up of an alliance between the JVP and the SLFP he was determined to restart the talks and make the alliance a success.

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna leader Dinesh Gunawardena said the rally showed that the majority of the people of the country were ready to fight all neo-colonial powers that might support the Ranil Wickremesinghe government to divide the country by granting an interim government to the terrorists of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Dinesh said the common people were ready to fight that attempt at the risk of their lives.

Respected leading author of Sri Lanka Gunadasa Amerasekera and parliamentarian Arjuna Ranatunga, who brought honor to Sri Lanka by winning the world cup of cricket were among the other speakers protesting against the governemt..

The seemingly endless march on its last lap arrived on the fifth day, October 1 from Kadawatha where it took a break on the previous day from marching from Nittambuwa.

More than five thousand Buddhist monks received the marchers, some of whom continually marched from Kandy to Colombo, like the JVP lady parliamentarian , Anjan Umma who has become a leading and ubiquitous figure at all anti government rallies.

The protest marchers started their fourth day from Nittambuwa to Kadawatha.When the marchers passed Thihariya the Muslims showed their solidarity to the movement by presenting the marchers National Lion flags. M.H.M Kadir Hadjiar received them at Thihariya. At kalagedihena residents offered refreshments of yogurt to the protest marchers and thanked them for protesting a “vicious” government on behalf of them.

Significant support by the Buddhist monks young and old was shown to the protest marchers on the way. A little samanera, at Kalagedihena showed his appreciation by giving flowers to JVP leaders. Venerable Yakkala Chandrajothi an eighty year old monk told the JVP leaders he came to meet them to appreciate what they were doing since his time was over. “Since we are nearing our deaths the future of the nation is in your hands,” he told them. At Imbulgoda , former MEP MP, Somaweera Chandrasiri joined the marchers.

After the march was started from Kadawatha , the protestors were fully packed in the lane they were allowed on the road and two kilometers long some observers said. In one uniform voice the protestors were shouting they would never allow a division of the country. At the head of the march walked JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva, and parliamentarians Lal Kantha , Sunil Handunneththi, S.K.Subasinghe, and Gamini Ratnayaka. Among them was President of the Sri Lanka Green Party Piyal Parakrama and Secretary of the Jathika Bhikshu Peramuna, Kalawelgala Chandaloka.

SLFP leaders Sripathi Suriyaarachchi and Mangala Samaraweera received the protestors at Kiribathgoda. The protestors were received by the Buddhist monks of the Inter University Bhikku Orgqnization in front of the University. They presented a national flag to the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva.

At the Peliyagoda Vidyalankara Pirivena Professor Venerable Kamburugamuwe Vajira Thero and other monks presented them with a national flag.

(03/10/03 go2lanka.com)