MAY DAY Cacophony
May Day was a happy day for Sri Lankan political parties as all four May Day rallies drew significant crowds.
MAY 04 2016
It was quite obvious that the UNP rally at Campbell Park, Borella, outnumbered May Day rallies of other parties. However, the SLFP rally at Galle and the Joint Opposition rally at Kirulapone could also be described as success stories. The JVP rally at BRC grounds, Colombo, too, was a colourful May Day event with a significant crowd support. The JVP, over the past 20 years, has earned a reputation as the most disciplined and committed celebrators of the International Workers’ Day.
Media Ministry Secretary
Nimal Bopage
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It was all too evident that Sri Lankan political parties exploited May Day to flex their muscles. The UNP used its massive May Day rally to reflect the strength of the government against all sorts of economic odds and on the other hand, the Joint Opposition used its May Day rally to convince the SLFP that the pro-Rajapaksa movement was a force to reckon with. The SLFP, at the same time, wanted to show that its core strength still remained within the party, despite the cacophony of the Rajapaksa group.
However, it is important to understand that the statistics of May Day rallies hardly translate into success on the ground. But, the Joint Opposition’s May Day rally at Lalith Athulathmudali Stadium, Kirulapone, gave rise to some important observations on the current state-of-affairs in the blue camp.
The Joint Opposition, despite their strategic blunders in the recent past, knew exactly how to choose a venue for a May Day. The Joint Opposition’s venue was a relatively small space for a May Day rally and it offered them many advantages. For instance, aerial photographs showed that the rally was jam-packed and all adjacent roads were blocked. Such photographs were widely shared on Facebook and other social media platforms by ardent Rajapaksa supporters. However, this doesn’t belittle the crowd drawn to the Kirulapone rally. According to various eyewitness accounts, nearly 30,000 people attended the Joint Opposition’s May Day event. It is also important to understand that this only amounted to one third of the crowd attracted by the UNP rally at Campbell Park.
