Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake was appointed as the new leader of the party at its seventh convention today. He took the baton from Mr. Somawansa Amarasinghe who held the leadership nearly 20 years.
In fact, Mr. Amarasinghe proposed the name of Mr. Dissanayake for the leadership post at the convention. It was unanimously approved by the party members. Since its inception in 1965, the JVP has mainly been ruled by two leaders –Rohana Wijeweera and Somawansa Amarasinghe barring the brief leadership of Saman Piyasiri soon after the assassination of Mr. Wijeweera during the insurrection.
Mr. Amarasinghe was appointed JVP leader at its convention in 1995 even though he was abroad at the time. He returned to the country in 2001. Mr. Amarasinghe is the only surviving member of the party’s central committee appointed during the 1971 insurrection.
