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Radio War Nerd EP #211 — The JVP: Sri Lanka's Communist Insurgency (Patreon)

Published:
2019-12-30 15:23:01
Imported:
2026-06
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Recorded: December 26, 2019

The War Nerd reports back from Sri Lanka on the 20th century communist insurgent group Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and its strange yet familiar transformation from mid-20th c. Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries led by Rohana Wijeweera, to today's Sinhalese nationalist parliamentarians and government kingmakers. The JVP story is overshadowed in the West by the bigger and bloodier LTTE insurgency, but it's the JVP that's survived and part of the ruling political class today . . . 

Map of Sri Lanka 

Total time: 2:00:30

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here 

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Comments

Rathindra Kuruwita

you were in Sri Lanka? man, i missed the last few shows. Are you still here?

Theodore Maglio

re: the Manchester United fans in Sri Lanka: John, just FYI Manchester United is absolutely horrible this year and anyone who tries to convince you that they are "better" than any team you would have heard of is full of shit. Personally, I think we love to see it!

JoR

Can you guys get Roger Crowley on the show? I ordered his books on the Portuguese empire and Venice you covered on the show, and realized that he also wrote a book on the battle of Lepanto. Not sure if that was mentioned on your episode on Lepanto, but that means he's had 3 separate books covered on the show. Not sure about his availability

xnfec

I ended up really liking this episode. The recent history of Sri Lanka has always been in my background conciousness through what I've heard in the media over the years but this really fleshed things out - much like the recent episode on Nigeria. I'll try and listen to it again at some point. I remember the assasination of Rajiv Ghandi. I recall there was a photo taken of the bomber, just before she blew herself up, that appeared in the papers. It seems that the elephant in the room here is the British connection in that the Tamils and the Sinhalese are just acting out the whole British divide and conquer strategy. Are there any current Sri Lankan attempts to put the whole thing a historical context. That might be the only way to bring the communities together. When John mentioned the Kandy kingdom, I was a bit distracted and immediately thought of the cartoon series Adventure Time.

xnfec

Thailand is a stronghold of Liverpool FC - who are having a rather better time of things. I wonder which country has adopted Wolverhampton Wanderers?

Zafar

Dear War Nerd - bargaining in South Asia (assuming Sr Lanka is like India) is an interaction in which you ask the vendor of without dispute delightful products to reduce the rate for you because he or she is such a swell person. It is not overt combat. There’s a lot of buy two then third half price sort of thing. This may be harder to achieve if you’re white, but don’t let it get you down. Also - any possibility of insights on India, even though no recent wars there and it probably isn’t safe to do your thing from there right now? Be well.

xnfec

I suppose the question might arise if there are any parallels between the BJP and the JVP in terms of how they arose?

Mark Ames

Spent some time trying to track him down, with no luck. Hard to even find interviews with him anywhere. We'd love to have him on if anyone has an idea how to find him.

Mark Ames

My guess is no. BJP pretty much comes out of the RSS and similar groups, different era and totally different ideology.

JoR

Maybe Chechnya, or another country that reveres the wolf. Lol. Thought in reality it might actually be Portugal because of how many Portuguese are at the club now

Zafar

It’s also ethnoreligious nationalism, but that can don many garbs. BJP probably more like the ruling party in Sri Lanka (or Myanmar) than the JVP when it comes to this.

radiowarnerd

Yes! We're in Kandy now. If you're around we could meet up.

radiowarnerd

What cured me of any sentimentality about that Kandy word was spending an hour going the last 16 km into town. There were these Twilight Zone signs, I swear to God, every .5 km telling you you were a whole half-km closer, as if they expected you to be advancing at walking pace.

Rathindra Kuruwita

I am based in Colombo. If you are coming back this way, I am available anytime. Let me know if you want any help with anything. I am a journalist so I know people

Ronald Dahlgren

46 minutes and 10 seconds in. John describes the nasty part of a grand revolutionary struggle. Thank you for this

jkjkjkj

I’d be interested in a follow up on this. There isn’t a ton of documentation but after the second JVP insurgency ended there was a massive Indonesia style purge of leftist population a carried by government death squads

Adam Torok

Excellent Episode ! You guys need to invite English Investigative Journalist Phil Miller who has an excellent book and documentary called Keenie Meenie which also deals about a lesser known history about Sri Lanka but more broadly about a Shady British Mercenary Company. Here is the link https://vimeo.com/466094032