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

' He served as president of the

Ceylon Communist Party (Peking Wing) Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party surged in 1964 following a split in the Ceylon Communist Party. Initially the party just called itself 'Ceylon Communist Party' as well, and was distinguished from the ...

and was a member of the

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south o ...

Municipal Council.

Early political and labour activism

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

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 The Ceylon Trade Union Federation (abbreviated CTUF) was a national trade union centre in Ceylon/Sri Lanka. CTUF was founded in December 1940, united various unions led by the United Socialist Party.''The Island''. M.G. Mendis in his Heyday' The fo ...

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 Nagalingam Shanmugathasan ( ta, நாகலிங்கம் சண்முகதாசன், 1920 – 8 February 1993) was a trade unionist and Maoist revolutionary leader in Sri Lanka. He was the General Secretary of the Ceylon Communist P ...

's opposition to the United Front government, arguing that UF was a 'progressive force'. Whilst the party leader

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 Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

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) The Communist Party of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂය, ''Sri Lankavay Komiyunist Pakshaya'' ta, இலங்கை கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி, trans ...

. 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 Communist Party of China.

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