JVP’s message for International Workers’ Day 2023

Sri Lankan political party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has released an official message for International Workers’ Day 2023.

Full message released by JVP:

The oppressed people, including the working people of Sri Lanka, celebrate this year’s 2023 International Workers’ Day at a critical juncture in history.

The neoliberal economic system and its imperialist strategies have repeatedly failed within world capitalism, and the capitalist world is confronted with a severe crisis. That crisis now calls for not simple changes in society but significant changes in the socio-economic structure. It calls for a social transformation.

In Sri Lanka, too, at the end of a 75-year capitalist political journey, we face a social, economic and political tragedy. The people of this country that are burdened with debt and officially declared bankrupt without being able to pay their debts are suffering from the hardships of not being able to fulfil even the primary conditions of life.

Not only the working people, farmers, fishermen, youth, women, and students, but also manufacturers, small-scale businessmen, and people engaged in various professions; the majority of people in the society are affected by the tragedy of the current economic crisis and are looking for a way to break loose of it. Presently, the ruling party led by the appointed Executive President Ranil Wickramasinghe and his ruling clique, who are at the helm of the country’s governing power, instead of stopping the fraud, corruption, and waste that caused the crises and directing the country towards a productive economic strategy, have started to manipulate the country according to the imperialist agenda under the guise of this disaster. Ranil Wickramasinghe has taken steps to betray the country for another loan from the International Monetary Fund to remain in power for a while longer by submitting to the conditions of the IMF, selling the last resources of the country and imposing excessive tax burden on the people.

On the other hand, the Ranil Wickramasinghe administration has also started an anti-democratic dictatorial type journey, such as trying to introduce draconian anti-terrorist acts and postponing the elections for fear of public opinion and to suppress the people’s objections against the pro-imperialist regime that is betraying the country and putting a burden on the people.

However, when we celebrate May Day 2023, the situation in the country is different from what the rulers think. The people of this country are now more politically conscious. Now the majority of people firmly believe that to recover the country from this crisis, the country must be led to a productive economic system, social justice must be established, fraud, corruption and theft must be permanently stopped, all thieves must be punished and the stolen public wealth must be regained.

The people, including the working people, now have no other alternative but to immediately defeat the greedy, oppressive, evil regime that has destroyed and dragged the country down the same destructive path and the 75-year-old bankrupt political system immediately and build a people’s government that will build the broken motherland.

Therefore, in order to defeat the rule of the elite class that sells the country, betrays it, oppresses the people and tries to stay in power without a mandate, we, on this May Day, call upon all the oppressed people’s forces to come forward with courage and determination to build a massive people’s power that could form a people’s government that can defeat the current anti-democratic ruling gang and liberate the people from the current tragedy.

Political Bureau
People’s Liberation Front
01.05.2023