BY ASANGA ABEYAGOONASEKERA 24 November 2019
“There are none so blind as those who do not see.” Matthew 9:26-27
The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
and most wanted terrorist leader after Osama Bin Laden, was killed on October
26th in a US military raid by its Delta Force in the village of Barisha located
to the northwest of Syria. The killing occurred in the de-escalation zone of
Idlib. Baghdadi’s rule extended over 88,000 sq km, stretching across the
Iraq-Syria border. He was cornered by US special forces in the dead-end of a
tunnel, where he detonated an explosive suicide vest, killing himself and three
of his children.
Six months ago, the final known footage of Baghdadi was aired on the militant
group’s al-Furqan media network after the Easter Sunday killing in Sri Lanka,
which claimed the lives of 250 civilians. The local extremist cluster that
carried out the attack was influenced by Baghdadi and his terror network across
South Asia.
Despite the threat of violent extremism spreading in the Island nation, which
was being discussed and documented before the attack, it was not a priority due
to shortcomings within the security establishment. This was highlighted a week
ago by the recently released Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report, a
post-audit of the 4/21 attack.[1] Identifying deficiencies within
the establishment and lapses in its decision-making process on national
security, the committee’s report reveals the importance and urgency of security
sector reforms to ensure the public safety of Sri Lankan citizens.
The report holds eight recommendations. The first is for Sri Lanka’s
defense establishment to implement ‘Essential reforms in the security and
intelligence sector’ by undertaking a comprehensive review of national
security priorities to identify gaps and weaknesses and areas that require
reform and strengthening. The recommendations suggest coupling an immediate
review of the present structures in place for security and intelligence and
mapping out tasks, responsibilities and possible areas of overlap. The
Parliamentary Select Committee is of the view that the nation has not
identified its national security priorities. It leaves the task of
strengthening coordination among the security establishment and key
stakeholders. The nation requires a National Defence Policy (NDP).
The Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance sees defence policy as part of
a broader concept of a country’s National Security Policy or National Security
Strategy. “Defence policy encompasses defence planning and management, which
are consecutive steps towards practical implementation of that policy, down to
actual command and control. The lines that divide all these concepts or phases
are often blurred in practice. In general, defence policy covers everything
from ends to ways and means of achieving national defence objectives and is
guided by codes and principles that are embedded in National Security Policy.”[2] Several South Asian nations do
not possess defence policies shared with their public. Sri Lanka’s closest
neighbour India, for example, has been criticized for not having a defence
policy, a requirement that has been discussed since the time of Prime Minister
Narasimha Rao in the 1990s. According to Prime Minister Rao:
The first criticism has been a rather extraordinary kind of criticism to say that we have no National Defence Policy. I would like to submit respectfully that is not true. We do not have a document called India’s National Defence Policy. But we have got several guidelines which are strictly followed and observed and those can be summed up as follows: First the Defence of national territory over land, sea and air encompassing among others the inviolability of our land borders, island territories, offshore assets and our maritime trade routes. Secondly, to secure an internal environment whereby our nation-state is insured against any threats to its unity or progress based on religion, language, ethnicity or socio-economic dissonance. Third, to be able to exercise a degree of influence over the nations in our immediate neighbourhood to promote harmonious relationships in tune with our national interests. Fourth, to be able to effectively contribute towards regional and international stability and to possess an effective out-of-the-country contingency capability to prevent destabilization of the small nations in our immediate neighbourhood that could have adverse security implications for us.[3]
S. Kalyanaraman, Research Fellow at Institute for Defence Studies and
Analysis in India, explains: “one of the staples of the popular and even
academic discourse on India’s national security during the last few decades has
been the assertion that India does not have a defence policy. Such a view is
widely shared not only by Indian and foreign scholars and analysts but also by
retired high-ranking civilian and military officials.”[4] A National Defence Policy
is a step towards moving away from reacting in an ad hoc manner, while
promoting strategic thinking and action in the realm of national security.
Has Sri Lanka ever attempted to develop a National Defence Policy?
The first draft of the National Defence Policy was prepared in 2016 by
a team of distinguished military officers along with the Institute of National
Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL), a national security think tank. It was prepared
with the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake, Gen. Udaya
Perera, Gen. Shavendra Silva and many others. After completion, the policy was
submitted to the then Secretary of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachi, who was
instrumental in initiating the process, but failed to take it forward due to
his sudden transfer. The same policy was handed over to the subsequent Defence
Secretaries, Kapila Waidyarathne and Hemasiri Fernando. A second attempt was
engaged after the Easter Sunday bombing with the leadership of General Shantha
Kottegoda and 18 distinguished military officers along with the INSSSL. After
much deliberation, a revised policy was handed over to President Sirisena who
would table this at the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. Had this policy guideline been
taken up seriously before the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka would have had
progressive reforms in the security sector and perhaps saved many innocent
lives. The PSC report contains several key recommendations and findings
highlighted by the committee, mirrored in the NDP as policy guidelines.
Sri Lanka’s first-ever NDP is an extensive document outlining 6 national
defence interests and 13 objectives, while identifying Sri Lanka’s defence
capabilities and discussing the country’s force structure modernization
efforts. The document identifies the need and the extent to which force
modernization ought to be facilitated for the future well-being of the defence
forces. The purpose of defence policy is to ensure things are done in an
organized manner and objectives are attained while respecting rules. The
reforms discussed at the PSC, for example, of creating a National Security
Advisor (NSA) and National Security Council (NSC), are clearly identified and
discussed in the National Defence Policy. The NSC will be established under a
new secretary-general as a secretariat headed by the President, and it will
have 15 permanent members, including the Prime Minister, NSA, State Minister of
Defence, Minister of Law and Order, Secretary to President, Secretary Defence,
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Finance, Attorney General, Chief of
Defence Staff, Tri Force Commanders, IGP and Chief of National Intelligence.
The NDP should be available to the public and, like any other policy, will go
through a periodic review every three years. Such a policy gives strength to
the entire system and improves decision making while prioritizing defence
requirements. The strategies will be formulated by the respective forces and
office of the chief of defence staff (OCDS) to achieve the security
requirements from regime to regime.
In a rapidly changing, complex global threat environment in the international
geopolitical arena, Sri Lanka faces numerous security threats such as
extremism, cyberattacks, financial and economic crimes, maritime intrusions,
environmental degradation and natural disasters. Sri Lanka has lost lives and
property each year as a direct result of these threats. Examples of natural
disasters include the mudslides in Aranayake[5] which killed more than
200 and displaced 350,000, as well as garbage disasters.[6]
National security issues are at the forefront of the November 2019 presidential
election. It is pivotal we stimulate and strengthen the process using a
National Defence Policy. New threats require new strategies and new
capabilities. They also create new responsibilities. One of the fundamental
questions is how to optimally balance the resources the nation possesses and
how to acquire new resources to address rapidly changing security threats
facing Sri Lanka.
Asanga
Abeyagoonasekera is the director general of the National Security Think Tank of
Sri Lanka (INSSSL) under the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense. The views
expressed here are his own. This article was initially published by Hudson
Institute Washington DC.
http://www.southasiaathudson.org/blog/2019/11/20/implementation-of-a-national-defence-policy-for-sri-lanka
References
[1] PSC Full Report https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/comreports/sc-april-attacks-report-en.pdf
[2] DCAF Security Sector Integrity https://securitysectorintegrity.com/defence-management/defence-policy/
[3] “Towards a Clear Defence Policy,” P.V. Narasimha Rao Selected Speeches. Volume IV: July 1994 – June 1995 (New Delhi: Government of India, 1995), p. 125.
[4] Kalyanaraman, https://idsa.in/policybrief/indias-defence-and-security-priorities-skalyanaraman-240518#footnote6_4dtemjx
[5] SL landslide and rain https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/18/sri-lanka-hundreds-of-families-missing-after-landslide-buries-three-villages
[6] SL Garbage
dump collapse https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/world/asia/sri-lanka-garbage-dump-collapse.html
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