Sri Lanka is still under threat, warns Defence Secy. – Part I

LTTE rump groups and pro-LTTE organisations are trying hard to achieve their separatist ideology in the country

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday said that there is a possibility of the re-emergence of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, as LTTE sympathisers abroad are still struggling to achieve the LTTE’s separatist ideology in the country. He made this observation speaking on ‘Future Challenges to National Security in Sri Lanka’ organised by Sri Lanka Foundation Institute at the auditorium of the institute.

Following is Part I of the speech. Part II will be published in tomorrow’s Weekend FT.

I consider it a pleasure and a privilege to have been invited to deliver the first public lecture at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on the topic ‘Future Challenges of National Security in Sri Lanka’.

Although Sri Lanka today is one of the most stable and secure countries in the Asian region, it needs to be understood that national security is still a critical issue for us. It was less than three short years ago that the LTTE was defeated, after having caused enormous suffering for all Sri Lankans for three decades.

The LTTE’s military defeat in May 2009 was a pivotal event in Sri Lanka’s history. It lifted the veil of fear that hung over daily life and impacted each and every Sri Lankan for a generation. It eliminated the primary obstacle to Sri Lanka’s future prospects and brought back a long overdue sense of peace and stability to our people.

It is vital that we do not take any of this for granted. Sri Lanka still has enemies and they are still at work to bring back disharmony and conflict to our nation.

Threats

There are several threats that will be covered during the course of this lecture. These include:

=The reorganisation of the LTTE in the international arena

=The possible re-emergence of terrorism within Sri Lanka

=The efforts by some to take Sri Lanka’s internal issues in front of international bodies

=The challenges posed by the regional geopolitical situation

=The possibility of creating instability within Sri Lanka through indirect means

The first threat to consider is the ongoing activities of LTTE linked organisations outside Sri Lanka. Despite the military defeat of the LTTE and the elimination of its top leadership two-and-a-half years ago, the rump of the LTTE’s global establishment is still active. There are ex-LTTE cadres, pro-LTTE activists and LTTE sympathisers still operating in various guises through various groups in many countries around the world.

After the demise of Prabhakaran, the LTTE’s former Head of Procurement Kumaran Pathmanadan, better known as KP, took control over the LTTE’s international network. However, a breakaway faction emerged almost immediately, led by Nediyawan, who was a follower of Manivannan (alias Castro), the former Head of the LTTE’s International Network.

The key reason for the emergence of a breakaway faction was that while KP’s group declared they would continue their struggle for a separate state through democratic means, Nediyawan’s group felt that objective could only be achieved by following the violent ideology preached by Prabhakaran.

‘Transnational Government’

Following the arrest of KP in August 2009, Rudrakumaran took over the leadership of his organisation and worked towards establishing a ‘Government in Exile’. This group now fashions itself as the ‘Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam’. Its primary objective is to lobby foreign governments for the establishment of a separate state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

The so-called ‘Transnational Government’ has more than 20 so-called ‘Ministers’ and an Advisory Committee comprising prominent pro-LTTE activists. Even at the start of this year, Rudrakumaran not only outlined the group’s clear intention to intensify its lobbying of foreign governments to support a separate state, but also stated its hope to encourage the resumption of direct struggles within Sri Lanka.

Another prominent LTTE-linked group is the British Tamils Forum, which is an umbrella organisation established in the United Kingdom with the aim of mustering support from the immigrant Tamil community and local politicians for the division of Sri Lanka.

One of the primary objectives of this group has been to influence the thinking of the British Government in favour of the LTTE’s interests. Evolving from the BTF is the Global Tamils Forum, which emerged in February 2010.

The Head of the GTF is the so-called Father Emmanuel, a priest who was once hailed by Prabhakaran as “a freedom fighter who has given leadership to a movement committed to setting up the homeland to Tamil Eelam”. Father Emmanuel has been engaged in a propaganda campaign against Sri Lanka for many years, targeting Tamil expatriates, foreign governments and international organisations. Under his guidance, the GTF has successfully won over a number of politicians from various political parties in European countries as well as the United States, Australia, Canada and India to support the separatist cause.

In addition, the GTF and the BTF have courted officials within international organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union and various Non-Governmental Organisations to obtain their support.

In the meanwhile, Nediyawan’s group, known as The Tamil Eelam People’s Assembly or the Tamil National Council, has been working with other international groups to promote the separatist cause in many parts of the world.

Indoctrination of students

Nediyawan’s group has control over most of the assets of the LTTE’s international organisation. It also presently controls the more than 350 Tamil schools that function in Europe supposedly for the promotion of Tamil language and culture. In reality, these schools aim to inculcate separatist sentiments and hatred towards the Sinhalese amongst second and third generation Tamils living abroad.

The ongoing indoctrination of the students in these schools is a matter of grave concern. It affects a significant number of children all over Europe. These LTTE-linked Tamil schools have a student population of approximately 6,500 in Germany, 5,800 in Switzerland, 5,000 in France and nearly 2,000 more in the rest of Europe. These are large numbers. A proportion of the school fees charged from these students is directed into the coffers of LTTE-linked organisations. So is the income generated from events organised by these schools.

It should also be noted that during the war, these schools functioned as a selection ground for future terrorists. In certain schools, the administration made arrangements for batches of students to undergo military training in the Wanni. Some of these students fought against the security forces during the humanitarian operation. Others returned to their countries and continue to work towards the separatist objective from outside Sri Lanka.

Some evidence has emerged in recent times that the ongoing conflict within the various factions of the rump LTTE organisations has led to some control of the Tamil schools passing to Rudrakumaran’s faction. In this struggle, the Rudrakumaran faction was aided by Vinayagam, a senior LTTE intelligence cadre who fled Sri Lanka during the last stages of the humanitarian operation.

Pro-separatist activities

Other LTTE cadres, including Achchudan, Samraj and Shankar who managed to leave Sri Lanka before the LTTE’s defeat, continue to work independently in various pro-separatist activities. While also working with the other LTTE-linked groups from time to time, these LTTE cadres are responsible for various criminal activities in the countries they reside in.

One of the most high profile of these criminal activities is the trafficking of persons internationally. Charging between 15,000 and 30,000 US dollars per person, they use the remnants of the LTTE’s international shipping operation to smuggle people to Western countries. The voyages of the ‘Sun Sea’ and ‘Ocean Lady’ vessels from South East Asia to Canada in 2010 are well known examples of this activity. The money raised will be used to further promote the separatist cause, and perhaps even sponsor future terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.

Separatist cause strategies

Irrespective of the conflicts that may exist within the various LTTE-linked groups just mentioned, we must understand that all of them are united by a common agenda. Their unwavering intent is the division of Sri Lanka and the establishment of a separate state. There are several strategies through which they will try to achieve their objective. These include:

=The winning of international opinion for the separatist cause

=Increasing international pressure on Sri Lanka in various areas; and very particularly through pushing for international investigations into war crimes and claims of genocide

=Undermining all efforts of the democratically elected Government of Sri Lanka to create a better future for its citizens, and

=Continuing to push for the resumption of conflict within Sri Lanka

It is important to note that many of these LTTE-linked groups claim that they no longer have any interest in terrorism. Most of them say they engage only in political activism and not violence. Almost all of them pretend to have a democratic face. But make no mistake. The Tiger has not changed its stripes.

The modus operandi of the LTTE linked organisations remains as unchanged as their agenda. There is no doubt that these groups will continue trying to create an enabling environment for a separate state internationally, while also encouraging the resumption of an armed struggle within Sri Lanka.

Electoral politics of Western nations

To understand why the LTTE linked organisations remain so powerful, we need to understand the electoral politics of Western nations. The stances that Governments adopt are a consequence of their internal politics.

Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and many parts of Europe have very large immigrant Tamil populations. These populations form notable voting blocs within electoral constituencies in those countries. Although the number of radicalised elements within the overall Tamil population is small, they are politically very active. These radicalised elements and LTTE-linked groups use skilful propaganda to project their anti-Sri Lanka objectives as goals the entire Tamil population is interested in.

A number of local politicians, state officials and even parliamentarians have been elected due to the voting power of such minority blocs in many countries. Quite often in Western democracies, voter turnout is very low among traditional populations but high among immigrants. That is why the propaganda of the LTTE-linked groups is taken so seriously: politicians see courting immigrant Tamil votes as an aid to getting into power.

Take the United Kingdom for example. When running for re-election as Mayor of London in 2008, Ken Livingstone sought the active support of the British Tamils Forum during his campaign. A number of Parliamentarians (Keith Vaz, Simon Hughes and Andrew Pelling), all joined a protest march against the humanitarian operation organised by the BTF in London in January 2009. These were all attempts to court an important voting bloc in their constituencies.

Financial strength

The power wielded by the ex-LTTE groups in the domestic politics of foreign nations is not limited to its claim to speak for a significant vote base. The financial strength possessed by the rump of the LTTE’s international network is also a formidable factor.

Historically, the LTTE has been able to raise large amounts of funds from the immigrant Tamil community through various means. These included funds generated through front organisations pretending to be involved in charitable works in Sri Lanka, through fundraising events and institutions including the Tamil schools and through illegal activities such as extortion, drug smuggling and human trafficking.

At the time of its defeat, the global network of the LTTE had a lot of funds at its disposal. While control of these funds was somewhat dispersed after the elimination of the LTTE’s top leadership and the breaking into factions of the remaining organisation, these assets are still out there.

Through their current activities, the LTTE-linked groups are still able to generate a lot of income. This income enables them to forge close links with powerful individuals in the international community. For example, after losing her seat in Parliament in 2010, British MP Joan Ryan was almost immediately hired by the Global Tamils Forum to be its Chief Executive.

Tireless canvassing

The sympathy afforded to the LTTE-linked organisations by members of certain foreign Governments due to voting pressure and financial motivation is only one dimension of the problem. The LTTE-linked organisations also work tirelessly to canvass powerful individuals and groups within the larger international community to support its cause. This includes influential figures within global bodies such as the United Nations and the Commonwealth, members of various Rights groups and Non Governmental Organisations, and international media personalities. Financial support is sometimes offered to the organisations themselves.

For example, Amnesty International recently accepted more than 50,000 dollars raised by the Canadian Tamil Congress. Through such activism, LTTE-linked groups in various countries systematically persuade individuals and groups in influential positions to accept their propaganda.

It is little surprise that Amnesty International was one of the three groups that organised a screening of Channel 4’s propaganda programme at the European Parliament a few months ago. The influence the rump of the LTTE has on such international organisations allows it to demonise the Sri Lankan Government and portrays this country in the most negative of lights. As a result, a lot of pressure is built on the Government in the international arena.

Media links

This problem is perhaps most acute in the international media. The LTTE has long maintained close links with certain media establishments and individual journalists in order to promote its interests. These links have paid the LTTE great dividends.

During the humanitarian operation, a number of international media organisations displayed great bias against the Sri Lankan Government. Supposedly respectable media outfits such as the United Kingdom’s Channel Four and others have even taken to broadcasting what seems to be little more than LTTE propaganda during the past two years.

Although they are promoted as objective reports, these propagandist programmes have cast LTTE combatants in the role of neutral observers and reported baseless allegations and fabrications as pure fact. Because of their supposed objectivity and the general ignorance of foreign nationals about the true picture in Sri Lanka, these programmes can greatly influence foreign opinion against this country. This is a grave threat to our national security, because it contributes to an increasingly enabling environment for the separatist cause on the world stage.

Guarding against re-emergence of terror

While this problem seems to be mostly international, we must realise there is a possibility, though a remote one at this stage, that terrorists will reorganise within this country. As mentioned before, one of the stated objectives of the LTTE-linked groups abroad is to encourage and facilitate the resumption of an armed struggle in Sri Lanka.

There is ample evidence that members of these groups, as well as LTTE cadres who managed to flee Sri Lanka during the humanitarian operation, are consistently trying to contact various people within this country and encourage them to regroup militarily. We must not forget that there are also LTTE cadres who escaped detection and detention during the humanitarian operation and are still at large in our society.

Unlike the detainees and surrendered cadres, these individuals have not undergone rehabilitation and their terrorist intentions may remain unchanged. Even among the cadres who were rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, there could still be some individuals who have not entirely given up their belief in militancy.

Although the power of the Government to impede the activities of the LTTE-linked organisations abroad is limited, it has a much greater level of control within Sri Lanka. The defence establishment is well aware of the potential threat of terrorism that continues to exist within this country.

Action is being taken to guard against that potential threat becoming a real one. One of the primary ways to guard against the re-emergence of terrorism is the strengthening of our intelligence network. Intelligence is a critical tool in the fight against terrorism.

During the humanitarian operation, numerous attempts to set off bombs in civilian areas and attacks on political targets were foiled through the work of our intelligence services. I have confidence that the regrouping of armed cadres and the re-emergence of terrorism can be similarly curtailed through these services. At the same time, it is of critical importance that the security forces maintain a strong presence in areas that were traditionally used by the LTTE for terrorist activities.

Strong military

Unfortunately, there are some parties even within Sri Lanka that question why the defence establishment continues to be so large and why so much money is allocated in the national budget for the Defence Ministry. These parties seem to have forgotten the lessons of the recent past.

We all know how the LTTE sprang up from being a small group of armed militants into one of the world’s largest and deadliest terrorist organisations within a short number of years. At its peak, the LTTE had more than 30,000 cadres, and had an extremely sophisticated land fighting force, a deadly naval wing and a fledgling air wing. During the terrorist war the LTTE waged against this nation, approximately 30,000 military personnel lost their lives, more than 25,000 became disabled and many thousands of civilians perished at its hands.

The LTTE was a deadly threat, and it is only two-and-a-half years since its military arm was defeated. We are very much aware of the efforts being undertaken in the international arena by the LTTE-linked groups to keep the separatist cause alive. The regrouping and reorganising of terrorists within Sri Lanka is still a threat to our national security. It is only logical that the Government takes every precaution it can to guard against it.

Maintaining a sizeable Army and establishing camps in strategic locations throughout Sri Lanka is essential. This is particularly true of the jungle areas in which the LTTE established camps, and through which it conducted its terrorist operations against our Security Forces.

Similarly, we are aware that one of the greatest strengths of the LTTE was its ability to smuggle weapons acquired through funds raised abroad into Sri Lanka through the sea. The LTTE was the only terrorist organisation in the world to develop an offensive air capability. It acquired this strength through light aircraft smuggled into Sri Lanka by way of the sea.

In addition, it also smuggled in surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, artillery guns, heavy and medium mortar, armoured vehicles and enormous amounts of ammunition and explosives through the sea. To guard against the possibility of such things happening again, as well as to prevent other criminal activities including human trafficking, drug trafficking and also to prevent piracy in this region, it is essential that the capabilities of the Sri Lanka Navy be strengthened to enable it to dominate the sea.

In sum, even though the war ended two-and-a-half years ago, there is still a need for the continued existence of a strong military within Sri Lanka. This is a fact that the vast majority of Sri Lankans are more than happy with. However, it is also a fact that a handful of people and groups with vested interests exploit in the political arena.

‘Militarisation’

They use the existence of a large military within Sri Lanka to manufacture claims about the ‘militarisation’ of this country. The thrust of the complaint is that the military has a pervasive influence on day-to-day affairs, particularly in the north and east. This is a wilful distortion of the actual picture.

It is true that the civilian administrative system was not fully functional in the immediate aftermath of the humanitarian operation. Therefore, for a short period of time after May 2009, the military stepped in to fill the breach and assist in administrative activities which are carried out by civilians. However, now that the situation has normalised and the civil service is back in place, the military is no longer involved in administration.

Even when it comes to the upholding of law and order, the role of the military has been drastically curtailed with the lifting of the emergency regulations. Day-to-day law and order activities have been completely entrusted to the Police. The claim that the military is involved in every aspect of day-to-day life in the current context is a gross misrepresentation of reality.

It must also be emphasised that, as a sovereign state, Sri Lanka has every right to set up military establishments in any part of its territory. The role of the military is ensuring the safety, security and sovereignty of this country. To do this, it must be ready to face any force that threatens the nation, whether internally or externally. That is why it is essential that military establishments, whether Army, Navy or Air Force, should be positioned in strategic locations. There are military establishments in every part of Sri Lanka. There are camps not just in the north and east, but also in the south, the hill country and in Colombo. The claim that this represents militarisation is pure nonsense.

The real reason for the claim about militarisation is that it is yet another ploy in the campaign to portray what is happening in Sri Lanka in the most negative of lights. It is a ploy aligned with the strategy of the LTTE-linked organisations to portray Sri Lanka as a nation using military might to persecute innocent Tamil people.

This is a manufactured claim that is vastly at odds with Sri Lankan reality. However, it is a useful tool for the LTTE-linked organisations and the pro-separatist movement because it helps them construct an alternate reality in the eyes of foreign powers about what is happening in Sri Lanka. It is purely a political tool, and it is being deployed because the agenda of these parties has not changed.