Propaganda Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party, Pubudu Jayagoda, today confirmed that its leader Kumar Gunaratnam would contest the forthcoming presidential election as the common candidate of the Left.
"Gunaratnam has no legal barrier to enter Sri Lanka. All media reports saying he has been blacklisted are false and baseless,” Jayagoda said in an interview with ‘Asian Mirror’ clearly indicating that the leader of the Frontline Socialist Party will arrive in Sri Lanka in the near future.
“We have been holding discussions with other parties in the Left to field a common candidate at the next Presidential election. We are of the belief that the Left can form a formidable force at the election against the mainstream political parties. The FSP has proposed comrade Kumar Gunaratnam’s name as the common candidate of the Left. But the discussions are still progressing,:” Jayagoda added.
Gunaratnam was an elusive leader and JVP leaders denied the existence of a party member as "Premakumar Gunaratnam". In April 2012, internal crisis within the party heated up between the hard core socialist Gunaratnam and the party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. As a result the party’s media unit was shut down once a majority of the members extended their support to Gunarathnam. With their support Gunaratnam formed the Frontline Socialist Party in the mid 2012.
He was taken into custody by Sri Lankan defence establishment around the same time, but was later deported to Australia as the Australian government exerted pressure on the Sri Lankan government. Gunaratnam is a citizen of Australia and his family lives in New South Wales.
During 1988-89, Gunaratnam functioned as the Trincomalee leader of Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), he was also the contact point between the JVP and Tamil groups of Marxist orientation, mainly the TELO. Touted as an explosives expert, he allegedly masterminded the JVP attack on the Pallekele army camp and IPKF camp at KallarAfter the death of Ranjitham, Kumar operated under his brother’s name. He was arrested and imprisoned at Bogambara Prison but escaped tunnelling his way out of prison on 13 December 1988
