I feel sad that I am not in a position to travel from London to be with Nava Samasamaja Party Comrades and Mrs. Mangalika Karunaratne family when Comrade Vickramabahu Karunaratne is being laid to rest.
However, the distance between London and Colombo does not diminish the deep sense of loss that we all feel today.
Comrade Vickramabahu and I were contemporaries at the University of Ceylon, though we commenced our studies in different faculties. I entered the University, Peradeniya in 1962 but we did not have a friendship or association until Comrade Vicckarmabahu returned to Sri Lanka in 1970 following his completion of PhD in Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Kirs Rodrigo, a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, arranged our initial meeting when he learned that we all agreed that our political views were more or less similar on the issues of the betrayal of Marxist Trotskyist principles by the leadership of the Lanka Samasamaja Party by entering into a bourgeois coalition government with SLFP led by Mrs. Sirimawo Bandaranayake.
I joined the group in 1970 that met at Comrade Vickramabahu’s residence Aniwatta Kandy to pursue our internal struggle in the Samasamaja Party. We published ‘Marxwadaya’ Theoretical Journal, Comrade Sumanasiri Liyanage and I became the co-editors of the journal. The other members were Dr Krisantha Rodrigo, Lal Wijenayake, Dr. Shantha De Alwis, Siritunga Jayasuriya, and the Trade Union Leaders Ronie Perea and Ranpathy. As I recall Dr Nalin De Sliva also attended meetings at the initial stages.
While pursuing our struggle within the party to bring the party members back to the Marxist Trotskyist agenda based on principles, we were expelled from the party. I was expelled from the party for publishing an article comparing the SLFP, LSSP, and CP Government to the Chilean Alande Government
Comrade Vickramabahu played a monumental leadership role in the Party and the working class in general throughout his political career. Although I was expelled from the central committee of the Nava Samasamaja Party early 80s due to the political ideology differences, I respect him for his courage, dedication, and leadership qualities in the movement.
However, I did not appreciate his candidature for the parliament under the leadership of a Bourgeois Party like the UNP in the last parliamentary election. It was worse than when the Lanka Samasamaja Party entered into the Coalition government with the SLFP in 1970.
I recall that I had the privilege of becoming the best man of Comrade Vickramabahu when he was married to Miss Mangalika Dodamwala. They had their wedding ceremony in Kandy.
Everyone admits that powerful bonds of solidarity exist among the members of the Nava Samasamaja Party and the trade union members.
Karunaratne Jayasuriya
