The Frontline Socialist Party (abbrv. FSP; Sinhala: පෙරටුගාමී සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය, romanized: Peraṭugāmī Samājavādī Pakṣaya; Tamil: முன்னிலை சொஷலிசக் கட்சி, romanized: Muṉṉilai Coṣalicak Kaṭci) is a communist party in Sri Lanka.[6] It was launched on 9 April 2012 by dissident members of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.[7][8][9]
Frontline Socialist Party පෙරටුගාමී සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය முன்னிலை சொஷலிசக் கட்சி | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | FSP |
| Secretary-General | Premakumar Gunaratnam |
| Founded | 9 April 2012 |
| Split from | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna |
| Headquarters | No 24 Melder Pl, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka[1] |
| Newspaper | වම ("Vama". Meaning "Left"[2] |
| Student wing | Revolutionary Student Union[3] |
| Youth wing | Youth For CHEnge[4] |
| Women's wing | Free Women[5] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-left |
| National affiliation | People's Struggle Alliance |
| Colors | Red Yellow |
| Election symbol | |
Sledgehammer | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Stalwarts of the party claim that they are part of an attempt to revive the socialist struggle in Sri Lanka. The secretary-general of the party is Premakumar Gunaratnam.
History
editThe FSP claims that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had lost its revolutionary thought built by Rohana Wijeweera since the beginning of his campaign. They claim that the JVP now relies on government coalitions rather than revolutionary socialism.
Premakumar Gunaratnam was the leader of the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya in Trincomalee and worked as a secondary revolutionary leader of the JVP. He was at the odds of the party for the lack of revolutionary purpose after Wijeweera's death in 1989.
In April 2012, internal crisis within the party heated up between hardline socialist Gunaratnam and the party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. As a result, the party’s media unit was shut down once a majority of the members extended their support to Gunarathnam. The women’s wing[10] and a majority of the students' wing and the youth wing extended their support to Gunaratnam.[11]
2020 protests
editIn 2020, members of the party along with some other left-wing parties held protests in front of the US embassy in Sri Lanka, but were later assaulted by police officers on the grounds that they were committing violations of COVID-19 "health regulations".[12]
Party members claimed the protest was a peaceful protest against the murder of George Floyd and against the signing of the MCC deal with the United States.
Members of the FSP, Premakumar Gunaratnam and a group of FSP supporters led a street march, with most protesters wearing the color red to symbolize communism and anti-racism. The members carried posters that read "Racism is a deadly virus", in reference to the COVID-19 outbreak. Police soon blocked the road to the U.S Embassy, and began to clash with the protesters. No deaths were caused in the combat but many were wounded.[13]
FSP secretary Kumar Guneratnam and other key members of the FSP were arrested and some others were hospitalized after the attack. Two lawyers who questioned the police about the reason for arrest also were taken into the custody.[14][13]
Electoral history
edit| Election year | Candidate | Votes | Vote % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Duminda Nagamuwa | 9,941 | 0.08% | Lost |
| 2019 | Duminda Nagamuwa | 8,219 | 0.06% | Lost |
| 2024 | Nuwan Bopage | 11,191 | 0.08% | Lost |
| Election year | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 7,349 | 0.07% | 0 / 225
|
|
Extra parliamentary |
| 2020 | 14,522 | 0.13% | 0 / 225
|
|
Extra parliamentary |
| 2024 | 29,611 | 0.27% | 0 / 225
|
|
Extra parliamentary |
References
edit- ^ "Address".
- ^ "News Paper". Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Student Wing". Archived from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Youth Wing". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Women's wing". Archived from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "List of recognized political parties" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015.
- ^ Hughes, Dhana (2013). Violence, Torture and Memory in Sri Lanka: Life After Terror. Routledge. p. 14. ISBN 978-1135038151.
- ^ "Frontline socialist party launched without Gunaratnam". Sri Lanka Guardian. 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Women's wing".
- ^ "Newly formed Front-line Party".
- ^ Protests 2020
- ^ a b "Anti-racism".
- ^ "2020 results".
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