Sri Lanka Marxists struggle for funding sources, dissidents accused of receiving funds from LTTE

Sri Lanka Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Somawansa Amarasinghe is scheduled to travel to several foreign countries next week to meet the party branches in those countries while the dissident group of the party is accused of receiving funds from the overseas LTTE sympathizers.



Amarasinghe is expected to apprise the party cadres in these countries over the present crisis in the party.

Sources close to the JVP say that the party split has affected the financial sources of the JVP Somawansa Amarasinghe faction since a number of foreign branches have pledged support to the dissidents.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the JVP Premakumar Gunarathnam faction said that the allegation published in Sinhala daily The Divaina today that said the group gets funds from the LTTE was baseless and malicious.

The newspaper reported that state intelligence was probing the funding sources of the JVP dissidents' faction to ascertain if Tamil diaspora was pumping funds to it.

The LTTE had channeled funds to the JVP rebel group from Canada and Scandinavia, The Island reported on Wednesday quoting an intelligence operative.

The 'We are Sri Lankans' movement launched by the JVP to fight for the rights of LTTE suspects in custody and the missing northern youth has received a great deal of funds from overseas LTTE sympathizers, the newspaper reported.