30th January 2000

US steps up military links with Lanka

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on Friday heard details of how the security forces will deal with the Tiger guerillas in the coming weeks and months.

Spelling out the action plan with the help of maps during a three and half hour long presentation last Friday at Temple Trees was Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Srilal Weerasooriya. Soon after he began, four other Majors General followed with detailed briefs on specific areas of activity.

The exhaustive briefs centered on the current military situation, particularly in the aftermath of the battlefield reversals in the Wanni in November, last year, and the ongoing confrontations in the Elephant Pass sector. The Army's ambitious drive to recruit 15,000 soldiers between February 1 to March 5, this year, also figured. Delving into details would be to tread on highly sensitive military secrets.

Besides the Army Commander, taking part in the discussion that followed were the Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Cecil Tissera , Air Force Commander Air Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody and senior officials. Also present was the General Officer Commanding the Joint Operations Command (JOC), General Rohan de S. Daluwatte and Inspector General of Police, Lucky Kodituwakku.

Conspicuous by his absence was Deputy Defence Minister, Anuruddha Ratwatte. He is away on a tour of Japan in his capacity as the Minister of Power and Energy.

President Kumaratunga who gave a patient hearing to the security forces and police top brass made it clear she would give peace every chance but asserted it would not be at the expense of the security forces. She said LTTE would be welcome to enter the peace process but they would have to renounce violence and lay down arms. There would be no question of the Government having to vacate military camps or yield to similar demands. She also gave a few tasks to some of those who took part by raising questions and asking them to come up with the answers at a later date.

As reported in these columns last week, earlier senior Army officials made the same presentation before the Army Commander. It is now reported that during this presentation he asked the participants whether the ethnic problem would end through war. Most responded in a chorus that a political settlement was necessary. This week the Army Commander flew both to Vavuniya and to Jaffna to make a personal study of the ground situation.

As I said last week, one is not discussing strategy or revealing military secrets in saying that a future crackdown on the LTTE would take into consideration two areas which have been of much public concern-the loss of almost the entire Wanni sector in November last year and the gains made by the Tiger guerrillas during attacks they launched on the Jaffna/ Elephant Pass sector since December 11, last year.

Last week there were intelligence warnings that the LTTE may resort to a diversionary tactic and attack security forces installations in the Mannar sector. Artillery/mortar attacks on the Security Forces Headquarters, Wanni, located near the town area were also imminent, they warned.

These threats notwithstanding, intelligence sources say, the LTTE build up to mount attacks on the Elephant Pass sector had also continued. Besides detailing CENSORED training was also being continued for cadres who have already taken part in attacks in the Elephant Pass since December 11. From this date until last Thursday, 13 officers and 203 other ranks have been killed in action. A further two officers and 100 soldiers have been declared missing in action whilst 120 officers and CENSORED have been listed as wounded in action.

Last Friday's presentation and the top level discussion that followed make it clear there will be no let up in the PA Government's military campaign against the LTTE, though the emphasis in the recent weeks has been on peace talks and a negotiated settlement. It was only last week that Minister G.L. Peiris, chief architect of constitutional reforms to pave the way for a settlement, declared that a 'facilitator' was necessary for peace talks with the LTTE.

Paradoxical enough, by dramatically stepping up attacks in the recent weeks, the LTTE also appears to be wanting to force the Government to the negotiating table. That is by further increasing its already coercive leverage to bargain for a favourable settlement, failing which, to retain their options to continue with a military-political strategy to increase pressure on the Government. This is underscored by the LTTE maintaining pressure on the Jaffna peninsula in general and the Elephant Pass sector in particular. These are the remaining major strategic bases of the government.

Hence, the Government has to adopt counter measures to thwart the LTTE strategy and so retain a range of military options which it could resort to during any negotiation or should the peace process fails. To ensure such a strategy is not an easy task.

The replenishment of men and material to maintain a range of strategic options has to lead to the nation's defence budget soaring to a new high. Whilst more expenditure is appropriated to the military budget, the controversies that prevailed in the procurement of material to the armed forces remain questionable. Allegations of widespread corruption and malpractice have been rampant though no one responsible has been taken to task. In such a situation, further controversies are bound to arise unless procedures are put into place to monitor the procurement procedures and ensure the standardised procurement of equipment on a need to have basis.

Sadly, over the years of conflict, these controversies on procurement have remained without the defence establishment setting up controls to ensure that the best equipment is procured. One way in which the Government leaders wanted to overcome this situation was to enter into Government-to-Government deals.

Though this has been followed in a few instances, there have been glaring lapses. The latest was the deal to purchase two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV) for the Sri Lanka Navy from Israel. Originally, the deal was to be a Government to Government one with the Russian Federation where two brand new vessels were to be purchased. But in a strange move, a deal was concluded with Israel on December 27 to purchase two 20 year old vessels. Sri Lanka cannot enter into any Government to Government deal with Israel since Colombo has not granted Tel Aviv diplomatic recognition.

The entire deal was the result of a Singapore-based Israeli arms dealer intervening in the matter. The US 26 dollar million deal was concluded with no tenders being called and against the recommendations of a Navy team that inspected the two vessels in question. Barely two weeks after the signing of the deal, a Navy team arrived in Israel to prepare the groundwork for training of some 150 Navy personnel to man the ships. The deal with Israel has also angered another friendly country which had offered to provide on loan an MPV. This was until they sold a newly built one on concessionary terms. Since news of the Israeli deal appeared in the media, various efforts have been made by interested groups to prevent further reportage.

That notwithstanding, a Government to Government military deal was finalised this week with United States. In one transaction, the Sri Lanka Government will purchase two more Hughes AN/TPQ 36 Firefinder locating radar from the United States. Like all US sales exceeding nine million dollars, this will also require Congressional approval. But Defence Ministry officials do not see any difficulty in this since the Congress had approved the sale of two units in early 1998. The US Bureau of Trade Controls is learnt to have already given approval for this deal. The locating radar is said to cost 11 million US dollars each.

In another transaction, Sri Lanka will purchase three brand new Bell 412 helicopters. They are due in the early part of this year. A third transaction involves the purchase of high calibre ammunition from a manufacturer in Spain who is producing it under licence from the US Government.

If United States assistance to Sri Lanka before 1994 has been confined only to its International Military Exchange and Training (IMET) programme, there has been a substantial change in the recent years. In October, last year, US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, for the second year in succession designated the LTTE as one of 28 'Foreign Terrorist Organisations'.

US Special Operations Command (Pacific) personnel have been training Sri Lanka security forces to enhance their fighting capabilities. Training has also covered intelligence techniques, explosives handling, casualty evacuation, aircraft safety/maintenance and the law of armed conflict.

More places have been provided for Sri Lankan military personnel at US training establishments and at military seminars.

Last November, the US State Department sponsored under its Anti- Terrorism Assistance Programme a five day seminar in Washington for a team of high ranking officials from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Government (Situation Report-November 21, 1999) It was to train them on how to cope 'with terrorist incidents that impact on national level systems and have international ramifications'. But the Ministry of Defence was forced to order the officials to remain at their posts due to the military debacles in the Wanni. Last month, a seven member team of US experts arrived in Colombo to study the suicide bomber explosion at the Town Hall Grounds on December 18 in which President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga escaped miraculously. The team was made up of three from the US Secret Service, three from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (under the Federal Treasury) and one from the Diplomatic Security Division of the US State Department.

During their stay in Colombo, a second female suicide bomber exploded herself on January 5 opposite the Prime Minister's office.

This gave the team a first hand opportunity to study the scene of the explosion and make some observations. The team has returned to the US and is to reconstruct on computer the Town Hall bomb explosion and thus identify the security lapses that led the incident.

'The United States military is not conducting counter-terrorism training for Sri Lankan military forces. This CENSORED is not in response to any current or specific events in Sri Lanka. This event is a previously scheduled exercise (more than two years ago) which is unrelated to any current or specific world event', said Lt. Col. Frank Rindone, Defence Attache at the United States Embassy in Colombo. (See box story for interview)

'Our (United States) interaction with the Sri Lankan armed forces is part of our Government's larger engagement with Sri Lanka. It is founded only on our shared interests in democracy, peace-keeping, human rights and regional stability', he adds.

Supporting this view is Tom Marks, a US defence analyst, author and security consultant, who spends most of his time lecturing to US Special Forces and other units on counter terrorism including the Sri Lankan experience. Says Marks 'The US does have a policy of constructive engagement. And it has put terrorism higher on its radar screen. Since Sri Lanka is 'friendly', it is simply getting requests now approved which previously would have been ignored.

He adds 'Of course, the couple of people who deal with Sri Lanka have naturally been working overtime all these years to help. But what the country really needs gets zero consideration in the actual corridors of power. Cynical but true'. The extended US military assistance to Sri Lanka, for which Washington has had good reasons, is undoubtedly helping the country's armed forces in their efforts to hone their skills and embark on a modernisation programme among other matters. This undoubtedly will help them in fighting their only enemy, the Tiger guerillas.

Now with plans for a newer thrust receiving approval at the highest levels of the Government, the skills they learn from US troops will help them in no small measure.

The planned thrust comes at a time when the country is at the crossroads. Measures to expedite constitutional amendments to pave the way for a negotiated settlement is receiving priority consideration.

So is the need for a facilitator to pave the way for negotiations. Yet, peace appears not only to be elusive but expensive. Continuing the war both financially and politically will be much more costlier. That is the dilemma for the country.

US Defence Attache comments

Lt. Col. Frank Rindone, Defence Attache of the United States Embassy in Sri Lanka in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times explained how US military assistance programmes and CENSORED were being extended. His comments:

'Combined Exercises (CEX) support enhanced cross-cultural ties between United States Pacific Command's forces and the Sri Lanka military forces and is part of a continuing series (two to four per year) that varies from year to year based on funding and United States troop availability.

JCET events are conducted with not only Sri Lanka, but with other military forces in the Asia-Pacific region. During this JCET, Sri Lanka and US forces will exchange training in such areas as maritime operations, small unit tactics and law of armed conflict training.

'The overall aim of the programme is to enhance professionalism of United States and other military forces through an exchange of knowledge and experiences. This benefits the forces of both nations. JCET events are sponsored by the Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) Headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Small elements of special operations forces from the United States Navy, Air Force and Army participate with units from the many nations in the Asia-Pacific theatre in this mutually beneficial training programme.

'The purpose of the JCET programme is to provide training in small unit leadership and tactics. The United States military is not conducting counter-terrorism training for Sri Lankan military forces. This JCET is not in response to any current or specific events in Sri Lanka. This event is a previously scheduled exercise (more than two years ago) which is unrelated to any current or specific world event.

'JCET events have taken place in the Asia Pacific region since September, 1992 - and, in Sri Lanka since 1994.

Our (United States) interaction with the Sri Lankan armed forces is part of our Government's larger engagement with Sri Lanka.

It is founded on our shared interests in democracy, peace keeping, human rights and regional stability.

Our JCET and other training events promote bilateral understanding in support of this larger relationship'.

The Jungle Telegraph

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