The JVP of present day is the opposite of the JVP as per the ideology of its founder Rohana Wijeweera. This is why, the JVP present day stalwarts have nothing to do with the Wijeweera family. So what is the ideology that the present day JVP promotes? In all reality, they too do not understand what they stand for. Take the speeches or statements of the main polit bureau leaders – they are controversial & conflict with each other and even themselves. Adding to the malady is the entrance of the NPP that unabashedly promotes neo-liberalism thus subtly forcing us to conclude that the masterminds & sponsors of JVP propose to slowly replace JVP with NPP under a new leadership & new account to kickstart another phase of anti-social & anti-national agenda.

While it is everyone’s guess where JVP gets its funds from though it is clear that a large diaspora network contribute to it regularly, in view of JVP’s history of plugging itself to the government in power, it must be recipient of foreign intel funding as well. Clearly JVP has funds from different sources to be used for a variety of causes. This is where their ambiguity lies and thus the conflicts of interest & their inability to focus on a national plan other than  following orders of those that fund them.

Having understood the funding aspect & its influence over JVP leadership, we need to look at the operational change of the JVP from its violent past to the indoctrination that is taking place teamed up with another breakaway faction the peratugami. Though we may presume or we are made to believe these two entities oppose each other, in more ways than one, they follow the same objectives.

To briefly recapture the past JVP for the many who think JVP are angels – it was not too long ago that the JVP took to arms, killed police, armed forces, even their parents, used a chit of paper to put every house & business into darkness, burnt transformers, buses and even attempted to blow the sacred Dalada Maligawa. Scores of youth are in their graves because of JVP having fallen prey to their ideology of violence.

Fast forward to present – JVP has scaled its way from indoctrinating the youth in universities, impeding their education & bringing them to streets for political protests to now setting base in villages where they are preying on innocent Sinhala Buddhist families.

The modus operandi if JVP in these villages are

• Identifying Sinhala Buddhist families & filtering them into various classes – rich middle class-poor & their political affiliation

• TARGETING FAMILES: Targeting Rich Sinhala Buddhist families & forming illicit relationships with school-going girls or boys using JVP cadres & eloping with the underaged child & then returning home where parents are forced to give away their cherished child in marriage to the JVPer. This strategy is used to claim lands, inheritances & politically influence families who are not JVP. This negates the political affiliation of the family while also taking over the decision making within the family traumatizing innocent families into submission. JVP also influences families to distance themselves from the cultural, rituals & values that Sinhala Buddhists have followed traditionally. What the colonial British aspired to do, the JVP are given the baton to complete.

• TARGETING TEMPLES: Next the modus operandi is to target the village temple & bring allegations against the Temple thero to the point that he is chased away or has to flee. The replacement is a JVP “thero” who influences the Sinhala Buddhist families who are subtly drawn away from their historical ties to Buddhism. This is part of the “niraagamikarana” plan of the JVP funded by the Born Again/Catholic Action/Church factions that influence JVP segments.

• SCHOOLS: Gifting books, joining shramadana & any other school related activity enables the JVP to influence the Principal & Teachers & dictates to them what happens in school and the type of events that should be held.

• CULTURE & SPORTS: youth & young adults are next targets by using traditional songs & cultures but behind the scene influenced by JVP. This taps their talents & steers this under the stewardship of the JVP – making these youth indebted to the JVP for their growth & development & thus trapping them thereafter by presenting themselves as being so concerned about these youth. It is a pseudo concern but these youngsters are caught to JVP indoctrination.

• JVP is the kingpin in these villages – their groups are at the forefront of every death, virtually taking over the entire proceedings of the funeral – they do everything except embalming the dead. The grieving family have no choice but to look on as JVP place their flags, do their speeches & influence all who come simply because they are the first to come & force themselves upon grieving families to pay for the funeral.

• JVP also influences businesses: by either influencing the workers not to work & demand more daily wages & perks or by threatening the business owners. This scare tactics previously done violently are done in subtle ways.

• JVP also take over village activities from shramadana to avurudu kreeda 

• JVP is now even commemorating the soldiers (completely ignoring they have yet to acknowledge & compensate for the many soldiers/police & their family members killed by JVP) This is to break up the patriotism embedded in soldiers & their families & break one of the key pillars that holds this nation together.

• JVP slogans & speakers: We are all well aware of JVP’s ability to organize & talents in slogans & these are used to psychologically influence people. Speakers are used to demotivate, scare or trigger civil unrest & was used widely during the aragalaya by spreading & exaggerating news about lack of fuel/gas etc & carried busloads of people to protest.

In this manner villages are being traumatized by JVP infiltrating & influencing Sinhala Buddhist families, Buddhist temples & schools – every area which Sinhala Buddhists have held sacred.

Why have other political parties failed to follow similar strategy are they not aware that the JVP are subtly eating into their political bases at village/grassroot levels?

Where are the police while these subtle indoctrinations are taking place, has no one identified the pattern in these incidents taking place in every village/district across the Sinhala Buddhist belt?

Where are the civil organizations that represent the Sinhala Buddhists? Why are they not taking up these issues at national level with the Government & demanding action?

Sinhala Buddhists should be concerned, as should the head theros & other Sinhala Buddhist influential players. The Sinhala Buddhist may be a majority by name only – they are being disrobed from the village up & from the town down. The aragalaya & the role of the JVP in it & its non-Buddhist religious support gave away much that we assumed to be true. The open insults, the fake videos, the attacks on Sinhala Buddhists is shameful but unabashedly continuing because no action is being taken by the Govt & its failure to uphold Article 2 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution as well as the historical duty it has.

While the external enemies in the form of foreign countries, foreign intel agencies, anti-Buddhist religious institutes & organizations may be funding these initiatives, tragically it is the namesake Sinhala Buddhist JVP who are trying to remove & erase the Sinhala Buddhist ethos of Sri Lanka.

Shenali D Waduge