Watson Fernando was a Sri Lankan communist politician and trade unionist.''Daily News''.

' He served as president of the

Ceylon Communist Party (Peking Wing) The Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) (CCP(M)) is a political party in Sri Lanka. It emerged in 1964 following a split within the original Ceylon Communist Party (CCP). Initially, the breakaway faction also identified itself as the "Ceylon Communis ...

and was a member of the

Moratuwa Moratuwa () is a large municipality on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south of the centre of Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides ...

Municipal Council.

Early political and labour activism

Fernando worked as a mercantile clerk. He rose to become a district-level leader of the

Communist Party of Sri Lanka The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (; ) is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and ...

. In the first parliamentary election of 1947 he contested the

Moratuwa Electoral District Moratuwa electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the city of Moratuwa in Colombo District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced th ...

seat. He obtained 722 votes (2.58%). He was a leader during the Hartal of 1953. As of 1958 he served as Vice President of the All Ceylon Toddy Workers' Union (CTUF affiliate, with M.G. Mendis as President). He again contested the Morutuwa seat in the March 1960 parliamentary election, obtaining 1,091 votes (4.49%).

Sino-Soviet split

Fernando became president of the Ceylon Trade Union Federation after the split in the Communist Party in 1963. He had sided with the pro-China faction in the split. In 1964 he held the post of Ratmalana District Committee secretary of the party and was one of 116 signatories to the declaration that marked the definitive split of the party into two groups.

UF government and formation of CPSL(M-L)

Fernando led a split in the party in 1972. Fernando criticized the party leader N. Shanmugathasan's opposition to the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

government, arguing that UF was a 'progressive force'. Whilst the party leader N. Shanmugathasan was abroad in Albania in April 1972, Fernando tried to seize control over the party. Fernando led a meeting on July 10 that declared N. Shanmugathasan expelled from the party. N. Shanmugathasan replied by summoning the party Central Committee on September 22, which declared Fernando expelled. Fernando's faction regrouped and at a meeting on November 12, 1972 it took the name Communist Party of Sri Lanka (Marxist-Leninist). Fernando sought to bring the Maoist movement closer to the UF orbit, but his faction remained a minor group compared to N. Shanmugathasan's party. Just like the main pro-China Communist Party, Fernando's CPSL(ML) sought to maintain contacts with the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

Family

He was married to Milna Fernando, the couple had two sons.

References

{{reflist Sri Lankan communists Sri Lankan municipal councillors 20th-century Sri Lankan politicians Sri Lankan trade unionists Year of birth missing Possibly living people