| Description | Track 1: recording setup 0.24 mins
Track 2: interview with an unidentified man who discusses the formation of organisations by tea and coffee planters, the ownership of plantation land 2.16 mins
Track 3: break in recording 0.34 mins
The interview continues. The man discusses the establishment of college campuses and the facilities that were set up during the 1950s, the number of students currently at the college, and the organisation of students union for different faculties on campus. He talks about the variety of Communist and Marxist political parties supported by students, including the recently outlawed JVP (Janata Vimukti Peramura) or People's Liberation Front. Another man joins the conversation to talk about the origins of this political movement during the 1960s, its policies and beliefs, and support amongst the working class and so called 'low caste' people. They discuss low caste names, political representation for people of low social status and the 'low caste' leadership of the SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party). They go on to discuss the social status of other politicians, support for the SLFP in rural areas, the difficulty of getting translations of Marxist literature into Sinhalese, and the campaigning activities of the LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party). They discuss SLFP philosophy in more depth, 'Scientific Socialism', and the previous difficulties the SLFP had in getting support from the educated youth until they entered a coalition government. They talk about the support base of the JVP amongst lower middle class people, their belief that the recent insurgency was not based amongst the proletariat, and the tendency of left wing activists to join the SLFP to gain power rather than remain in the Communist Party or the LSSP (tracks 4-15).
Track 16: silence 8.20 mins
Total: 32.21 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF571E0553180 |