The leftist government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held its first May Day rally with special guests from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Communist parties in India.
CCP official Peng Xiubin told the mass rally in Colombo that his party had been working closely with Dissanayake’s JVP, or People’s Liberation Front.
“We will make China–Sri Lanka relations even stronger,” the Chinese official said.
JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said he hoped cooperation with China would help address rural poverty.
“China has done tremendous work in this area and we want to get their expertise,” Silva said.
AR Sindhu, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which governs India’s southern Kerala state, said they were drawing inspiration from the JVP’s rapid rise to power.
“We proudly tell the people that, yes, Kerala will follow the Sri Lankan way. Not only Kerala, the entire India will be following the Sri Lankan way,” Sindhu said.
