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National Freedom Front ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ தேசிய சுதந்திர முன்னணி Jathika Nidhahas Peramuna | |
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| Abbreviation | NFF |
| Leader | Wimal Weerawansa |
| General Secretary | Sarath Wijesiri |
| Founder | Wimal Weerawansa |
| Founded | 14 May 2008 (17 years ago) (2008-05-14) |
| Split from | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna |
| Headquarters | 21/1 Asoka Mawatha, Jayanthipura, Battaramulla |
| Ideology | Anti-federalism Sinhalese nationalism |
| National affiliation | Former: UPFA SLPFA ULS FPA SB |
| Parliament of Sri Lanka | 0 / 225 |
| Local Government | 26 / 7,842 |
| Website | |
| jnpsrilanka.lk | |
TheJathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) orNational Freedom Front (NFF) is a political party inSri Lanka which was formed by ten JVP parliamentarians led byWimal Weerawansa, as a breakaway group of theJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
The NFF commenced political activities on 14 May 2008. The party is also notable for being the first party in Sri Lanka to launch its own official website.[1]
TheJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), aMarxist–Leninist political party in Sri Lanka, was formed in 1965 by a breakaway group of theCeylon Communist Party (Maoist) led byRohana Wijeweera. The JVP was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in1971 and between1987 and 1989. After 1989, the JVP entered electoral politics by participating in the1994 parliamentary election.
Due to misconduct and various other charges againstWimal Weerawansa, the leadership of the JVP decided to suspend the membership of Wimal Weerawansa and expel him from the party on 21 March 2008. As the media reports, Weerawansa had an argument with the leadership based on the disarmament of theTamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) political party, a breakaway faction of theLTTE which was contesting in the country's Eastern provincial council elections May 2008 under the banner of the rulingUnited People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[2][3]
JVP MPPiyasiri Wijenayake accused the main opposition party, theUnited National Party, of conspiring against the JVP, during a media conference held at the Nippon Hotel Colombo on 8 April 2008.
The dissident faction led by Wimal Weerawansa visited the most senior Buddhist monks of theAsgiriya andMalwatte chapters on 20 April 2008, to "obtain blessings for their new political movement". The UNP was again accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to divide and destabilize the JVP, this time by Weerawansa.[4]
The party commenced political activities on 14 May 2008, the same day Rohana Wijeweera formed the JVP in 1965, and also the day of the infamousAnuradhapura massacre carried out by theLTTE, where 146 pilgrims at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi inAnuradhapura were brutally murdered by the LTTE. The party leaders who addressed the inaugural ceremony at BMICH Colombo claimed that the new political party would be an alternative party to the two main political parties, theUNP and theSLFP.[5]
In October 2024, Wimal Weerawansa announced that the NFF would not be participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections, in hopes of increasing chances of the JVP-ledNational People's Power, led byPresidentAnura Kumara Dissanayake, winning a majority in Parliament.[6]
| Election year | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | +/– | Result for the party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Part ofUPFA | 3 / 225 |  | Government | |
| 2015 | 5 / 225 |  2 | Opposition | ||
| 2020 | Part ofSLPFA | 6 / 225 | 1 | Government(2019–2022) | |
| Opposition(since 2022) | |||||
Jayadeva, Uyangoda (2008). "The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Split".Economic and Political Weekly.
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