Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary)
Encyclopedia
Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary) was a Trotskyist political party
in Sri Lanka
. LSSP(R) was formed in 1964 when the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
was expelled from the Fourth International
. LSSP(R) was constituted by the ideological hardliners who opposed LSSP joining the national government and wanted to preserve the bonds to the Fourth International. The United Secretariat recognised it as the Sri Lanka section of the Fourth International.
The founders of LSSP(R) had 14 LSSP Central Committee members, and two members of parliament, Edmund Samarakkody
and Meryl Fernando. Other significant leaders were V. Karalasingham and P. Bala Tampoe
.
LSSP(R) later disintegrated in internal strife. A source of discontent was the issue of parliamentary tactics. On December 3, 1964 the parliamentary fraction of LSSP(R) voted alongside the right-wing United National Party
and dissidents of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
for an amendment to second throne speech of the SLFP-led government. The amendment was passed and the government defeated. The action of the LSSP(R) parliamentarians made V. Karalasingham and the Sakthi fraction leave LSSP(R) and return to the LSSP.
In 1966 Samarakkody started a left opposition against Bala Tampoe and the rest of the leadership. Samarakkody and his supporters left the LSSP(R) following a Special Conference (18-19 April 1968) and formed the Revolutionary Samasamaja Party
. The 1969 World Congress of the Fourth International appointed a Ceylon Commission to discuss with both Samarakkody's group and the LSSP (R), but was unable to resolve the differences.
A Healyite
splinter-group, formed amongst students in 1968, is now called the Socialist Equality Party
.
LSSP(R) published Fight (around 1966) and Samasamajist (1968-1970) in English
.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. LSSP(R) was formed in 1964 when the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
was expelled from the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
. LSSP(R) was constituted by the ideological hardliners who opposed LSSP joining the national government and wanted to preserve the bonds to the Fourth International. The United Secretariat recognised it as the Sri Lanka section of the Fourth International.
The founders of LSSP(R) had 14 LSSP Central Committee members, and two members of parliament, Edmund Samarakkody
Edmund Samarakkody
Edmund Samarakkody was a leading Trotskyist in Sri Lanka and at one time a member of that country's parliament. He was a leader of the Fourth International's section, the LSSP, and a supporter of the establishment of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International in 1963...
and Meryl Fernando. Other significant leaders were V. Karalasingham and P. Bala Tampoe
Bala Tampoe
Bala Tampoe is Sri Lankan lawyer and trade unionist. He was the General Secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers Union in Sri Lanka.-Early life and education:...
.
LSSP(R) later disintegrated in internal strife. A source of discontent was the issue of parliamentary tactics. On December 3, 1964 the parliamentary fraction of LSSP(R) voted alongside the right-wing United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
and dissidents of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in...
for an amendment to second throne speech of the SLFP-led government. The amendment was passed and the government defeated. The action of the LSSP(R) parliamentarians made V. Karalasingham and the Sakthi fraction leave LSSP(R) and return to the LSSP.
In 1966 Samarakkody started a left opposition against Bala Tampoe and the rest of the leadership. Samarakkody and his supporters left the LSSP(R) following a Special Conference (18-19 April 1968) and formed the Revolutionary Samasamaja Party
Revolutionary Workers Party (Sri Lanka)
Revolutionary Workers Party, initially known as Revolutionary Samasamaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formed in 1968, as a split from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party . The founding secretary of the party was Edmund Samarakkoddy...
. The 1969 World Congress of the Fourth International appointed a Ceylon Commission to discuss with both Samarakkody's group and the LSSP (R), but was unable to resolve the differences.
A Healyite
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
splinter-group, formed amongst students in 1968, is now called the Socialist Equality Party
Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka)
The Socialist Equality Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1968 as the Revolutionary Communist League by former student members of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party who joined the International Committee of the Fourth International. They remained loyal to Gerry Healy...
.
LSSP(R) published Fight (around 1966) and Samasamajist (1968-1970) in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
External links
- Edmund Samarakkody, The Struggle for Trotskyism in Ceylon