May 19, 2010 : 10:30 AM
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By Centre for Land Warfare Studies |
General The Centre for Land Warfare Studies conducted a seminar on “Sri Lanka: One Year After the War” on 19 May 2010 at the CLAWS Campus. Select officers from the armed forces, Defence Attaches and eminent experts on the subject participated in the seminar. H E Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India delivered the keynote address. Ambassador KC Singh, former Secretary, MEA chaired the session. Welcome Address: Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd), Director, CLAWS The Director welcomed the participants to the seminar. He began by stating that very rarely have militaries won an absolute victory over terrorist groups. The complete and total victory achieved by the Sri Lankan armed forces against the LTTE is therefore indeed exceptional by any standard. But though the war has been won, much greater efforts are required to win the peace. This understandably is a process which will take time. But the issues which led to insurgency in the first place need to be addressed otherwise the peace which has been achieved will be ephemeral. Keynote Address: One Year after the War: H E Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India The conflict which took place in Sri Lanka cannot be described as a War. War is generally associated with nations taking up arms against each other. What we witnessed was an internal conflict bred by geo-politics, political dissatisfaction among a minority group and the problem of post-independence affirmative action. These conditions snowballed into brutal levels of violence and terrorism inflicted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A year after the conflict, it is important to analyse the present situation in the region in the light of the causative factors which led to violence and the years of conflict which followed. During this period the Sri Lankan state had its back against the wall, which became worse with the absence of international sympathy and support. Eventually, the government was compelled to resort to consolidate its armed forces in order to eliminate the network of LTTE. As a result, one year ago on this date, the LTTE leadership was wiped out on the shores of Wellamullivaikkal and peace was restored in the country. In the immediate aftermath of the operation, the first challenge to be addressed was looking after the over 300,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP). As a large part of the grassroots LTTE cadre had merged into the local population, the security forces had to screen all the people to filter them out. Furthermore, Sri Lanka had to deal with arms caches and numerous landmines indiscriminatory placed in various parts of the country. The process was time consuming but a year into the peace process has seen the rehabilitation of most of the IDPs and now only 50,000 or so remain to be rehabilitated. The long term plan of the Sri Lankan government is to consolidate peace which has a wider ambit than the mere elimination of violence which was achieved by defeating the LTTE. The rehabilitation process and development of the region thus assume great importance. Key initiatives of the Government in this regard are: - • Development projects and plans for socio-economic development have been embarked upon. • Re-democratization of the country and encouraging genuine home grown political leadership in the North and the East. In order to make democracy more participatory and exercise it on grass root level, Sri Lanka’s implementation of the 13th Amendment is an important feature. • An eight member ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ has been set up. The commission intends to search for restorative justice and not retributive justice. What Sri Lanka is aiming at is a home grown solution which takes into account the unique nature of the country and its people, the majority-minority complexes and demography. Sri Lanka’s linkages with India also need consideration. The execution of such a model would perforce require acceptability by all political groups. Some of the challenges which need to be addressed are: - • The activities of the Tamil Diaspora, which continues to agitate for separation and retribution. • Sri Lanka should be wary of becoming a victim of geo-politics both regional and international. • Strained relations with the European Union as a result of the conflict has to be addressed. • Many transnational NGOs suffer from lack of situational understanding therefore resulting in unbound criticism of the Sri Lankan government. This too needs to be addressed. To conclude, it is imperative to highlight that the government needs time for the healing process to succeed. The country has bled for 30 years; the wounds will take time to heal. Time is an important factor which will direct the success of the government and ensure that the citizens of the country are gifted with lasting peace. Discussion • LTTE network exists outside Sri Lanka and with it a trans-national government of Tamil Eelam, which continues its activities primarily for its own survival. LTTE groups abroad will continue to foment anti-Sri Lankan feelings in some of the European countries. This needs to be carefully traced and abated before it haunts the Sri Lankan government again. • Tamil is a national language. The government intends to promote the learning of three languages by all its citizens, ie Sinhala, Tamil and English. • The IPKF certainly impacted on the situation in Sri Lanka. The aim now is to move ahead with the positives of the relationship. Chairperson: Ambassador K C Singh, former Secretary, MEA The involvement of IPKF was neither positive nor negative. It was an effective factor that shaped the political and military scenario of the country. The consequence was in turn not predicted before the involvement of IPKF. The International Crisis Group has been pressing for an inquiry into the use of force against the civilians. It is important to note that Great War time leaders may not prove good in peace times; therefore the right people should be placed to do the right job. Military Victory and Aftermath: Maj Gen Ashok Mehta, AVSM (Retd) When both sides are pursuing a military solution, one would have expected a stalemate. By shaping the internal and external environment, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s winning team was able to convert past defeats into victory, in which India played a decisive role in keeping the LTTE’s head down. In a dig at India, some Sri Lankans say that the LTTE, which was to be disarmed by the IPKF in 72 hours, took 25 years. While the Sri Lankan war was won, complete normalcy still has to be restored. The Sri Lankan President has repeatedly reiterated that Sri Lanka requires a home-grown solution. This must embrace a genuine-power sharing arrangement if decisive peace is to be attained. However, devolution that is expected from the 13th Amendment is unlikely to be realised. A remark by the Sri Lankan President that the amendment was implemented in a hurry gives the previous statement credence. As of now, ethnic tensions persist which are exacerbated by the geographical proximity of Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu. The primary priority remains the resettlement of the IDPs. The ethnic divide is still very deep and a cause of concern to both Sri Lanka and India. LTTE groups are reportedly attempting to re-emerge in Sri Lanka. The trends in Sri Lanka are towards a single-dominant party and the foreign policy is shifting from the West to the East. During Presidential elections, a noticeable hardening of attitudes by the EU towards Sri Lanka was observed. Undoubtedly, there were aspects of the war which Sri Lanka did not want to reveal to the international community and this led to a decline in their global reputation. Therefore, Sri Lanka needs to retrieve its standing in the Western eyes. The setting up of the ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ is a step in this direction. Sri Lankan government has also employed a British Public relations company to enhance its international image and corrective measures are being undertaken to realize their long term, military and political goals. Winning Peace in Sri Lanka: Ethnic and Other Reconciliations: Dr N Manoharan, Senior Fellow, CLAWS It is one year since the Sri Lankan government decimated the LTTE. The defeat of the LTTE is certainly a big relief not only to the Sinhalese, but also to the Tamils and the complete region. Of concern however is the fact that the political determination, seriousness and single-minded devotion of the government shown in winning the war is not being displayed to bring about a long-term political settlement to the ethnic issue. The government’s priority is to make Sri Lanka the “Singapore of South Asia”. Accordingly, it has been concentrating its efforts on four major areas: • Securing the country from any future militancy. Long-term political settlement of the ethnic issue seems to be missing the political landscape. Recent appointment of ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ (LLRC) is a rather commendable step, but its mandate remains limited. The essence of constituting a Second Chamber at the national level is to accommodate people that were left out of the government and fails to include minorities. Moreover, the issue of devolution of powers seems to be placed on the back-burner. Further, the existing 13th amendment remains on card, which is an offshoot of Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. The provision, however, is not a genuine mechanism unless issues like land, finance, police powers, role of governor, status of provincial council, division of powers between the centre and provinces are thoroughly addressed. What remains important is the need to bridge the trust deficit with the minorities and win their hearts and minds. Two other reconciliations i.e, political and diplomatic are also important for achieving long-term peace, stability and development of the country. The Opposition is presently weak. Instead of weakening it further, the government should reach out to the Opposition. Further, the government should also reconcile with the civil society that was alienated both during and after the war. It is also vital to reach out to the West and the International Community which voiced its criticism and concern in regard to human rights violations during the war. Colombo would immensely benefit if it addresses the concerns of the West instead of overly relying on countries like China and Pakistan. While the present circumstance seems appeasing, the fissures created now should be addressed before they transform into another retardation factor. India’s Relevance and Future Role in Sri Lanka: Mr. Nitin Gokhale, Defence Editor, NDTV Throughout the Sri Lankan war, India was walking a tight rope balancing domestic compulsion with regional diplomacy. While supporting Sri Lanka’s task of eliminating LTTE, it had to also cater to the domestic fallout of such action in Tamil Nadu. India was unable to provide military aid to Sri Lanka, given the IPKF scenario and the sensitive experience over this matter. At the same time India was concerned about the growing presence of China and Pakistan in Colombo’s war efforts. Arms required by Sri Lanka to prosecute operations against the LTTE were denied by the Western powers compelling Colombo to look towards India and China. India’s indecisiveness and delay however forced Sri Lanka to accept Chinese military aid for which the terms of payment were made very attractive. While India maintained a low profile, she continued to offer assistance in terms of intelligence and blockade of LTTE’s naval assets. Sri Lanka liaised with Indian authorities and continuously communicated with them in terms of numerous aspects. Despite China’s growing role, India firmly remains relevant primarily because of simple geography and cultural and ethnic ties that ensure closeness. India continues to train large number of Sri Lanka’s military officers every year. Both countries have strong and robust economic ties with each other which would rise substantially in the coming years. Another area that ensures strong ties is the large number of tourists who travel across borders – approx 3 lakh tourists per year. These factors will keep India relevant in the Sri Lankan scenario. Sri Lanka is aware of balancing its ties with India and China. Sri Lanka cannot be blamed for India’s secondary role in the war, primarily because India was itself responsible for the current circumstance, which includes indecisiveness in terms of providing arms and infrastructural support. India’s desired role can only be reached once it works with Sri Lanka whole-heartedly and not on an ad-hoc basis. India needs to realize that Sri Lanka has her own national interests, which cannot be compromised because of its neighbour. India has much to offer in terms of grants and expertise as also military aid which could be given with certain preconditions. India should also help in ethnic reconciliation. New Delhi needs to continue to press for power to minority Tamils and Muslims, in order to regain Sri Lankan Tamil’s support, especially since a feeling exists amongst these communities that they were betrayed by India. Moreover, we need to be decisive and help Sri Lanka by offering investment in areas like civil sector, IT, oil exploration etc. In addition, there is a need to work with other Western democracies and counter China’s influence in Sri Lanka especially in regard to the Indian Ocean region. Discussion • There have been reports about the Sri Lankan army’s involvement in trying to change the demographics of particular regions in the East of Sri Lanka. This is not correct. The IDPs have to be resettled in their homeland and such migration should not be mistaken for forced changes in terms of demography. • Forced migration or displacement can create an added problem for both Colombo and Delhi. The disenchanted people migrating from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu would bring along stories of Sri Lankan attitude towards them. Any excesses by the Sri Lankan government would instigate a sense of vengeance which can be harmful for India too. • China’s rising influence in Sri Lanka is in conformity with Chinese economic and security goals. India will have to find appropriate counter measures. India needs to mention its red lines to Sri Lanka and express its concern and ambition, which would ensure a stronger bond without any miscommunications or political bumps. (Report Compiled by Aditi Malhotra, Research Assistant, CLAWS) |
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