Though the JVP staged two violent insurrections against the Sri Lankan state that saw tens of thousands killed, it found no sympathy or solidarity for Eelam Tamils and instead remained staunchly opposed to Tamil demands for autonomy. The party went on to breed some of the island’s most fervent Sinhala racists.

Dissanayake was amongst the parliamentarians who fumed against a ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He repeatedly protested the agreement, leading JVP rallies such as the 2003 five-day, 116 kilometres foot march from Kandy to Colombo, demonstrating against the deal.

In 2006, Dissanayake was present as the JVP launched an organisation known as the “Joint Front to Protect the Nation" to defeat the LTTE and to work for the abrogation of the ceasefire.

The Sri Lankan military would go on to kill as many as 167,679 Tamil civilians in a campaign that has been dubbed a genocide. Food and medicine were embargoed, hospitals were repeatedly shelled, widespread sexual violence deployed and surrendering Tamils executed.

The events have been the subject of several UN reports and resolutions, including one that is currently being drafted at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.

Dissanayake and the JVP have been firmly against such a move, with the JVP leader stating last month he "will not seek to punish anyone accused of rights violations and war crimes".