Situation Report

Defence Secretary calls Haukland bluff

The remains of Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, a staunch supporter of the LTTE lies outside the Bank of Ceylon office, part of the High Security Zone at Inner Harbour Road in Trincomalee. Photo: A.T.M. Gunananda

Some of the issues raised by the haughty Hagrup Haukland, the former Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), have drawn the personal attention of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

On Friday he directed Gothabaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary to formulate a comprehensive Government response to accusations made by the SLMM with regard to paramilitary groups operating in Government-controlled areas. Yesterday he detailed a police team to travel to Valachchenai and conduct investigations into claims that armed men in civilian clothes were operating in Government-controlled areas.

The immediate cause for the investigation is a claim made by Mr. Haukland in a letter to Defence Secretary Rajapaksa that "armed civilians claiming to represent Karuna are often reported to SLMM." He said on March 28, "SLMM monitors encountered 10 to 15 armed men in civilian clothes operating in Valachchenai, telling SLMM that they belong to the Karuna faction. SLMM District Office in Batticaloa has also been contacted by individuals claiming to be Karuna members."

This faction belongs to LTTE renegade eastern leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna. The LTTE has repeatedly charged that Sri Lankan armed forces were operating in collusion with this faction, an accusation which the Government denies.

Mr. Haukland's two-page letter was in response to one Mr. Rajapaksa had sent seeking clarification on an official SLMM statement on March 27. The contents of this letter appeared in a front page news story in The Sunday Times last week. The Defence Secretary wanted to know the basis on which the SLMM declared that armed groups were operating in Government-controlled areas and why the SLMM called upon the Government to "take this matter seriously and not close their eyes." The relevant paragraph in the SLMM statement said:

"The Sri Lanka Army has recently dismissed claims that armed groups are operating in Government controlled areas. However, based on SLMM's monitoring activities and experience on the ground the Mission does not share this view and would like to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to take this matter seriously and not close their eyes to armed elements that are to our knowledge still operating in Government controlled areas."

The above reference is part of SLMM's customary way of balancing statements it issues by taking pot shots at both sides, the Government and the LTTE. The March 27 statement was issued to condemn the attack on the Sri Lanka Navy Dvora off Kudiramalai Point on March 25. Although the Tigers have denied any responsibility, the SLMM statement said its previous experience during the CFA made it feel it cannot rule out their involvement.

The Government is perturbed that the SLMM's accusations came with barely three weeks to go for the second round of talks. Since the role of paramilitary groups was the contentious issue that preoccupied the first round of Geneva talks and was sure to come up again later this month, questions were raised whether the SLMM was in fact helping the LTTE to consolidate its position at the negotiating table.

There were reports from the Wanni yesterday that a formidable section of the LTTE was pressuring their leaders not to go for the talks in Geneva. This is in the backdrop Friday's killing of Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, a staunch supporter of the LTTE who headed a civilian group organising protest rallies in the Trincomalee district. He was to be named to succeed the late Joseph Pararajasingham as MP on the Tamil National Alliance list to Parliament. Yesterday, three more Tiger guerrilla cadres were shot dead in Sampur. The LTTE accused armed forces and paramilitary groups of colluding in the attack, a charge that was strongly denied.

Two soldiers at an army post in Kattaiparichchan (near Trincomalee) were wounded after guerrillas fired Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) yesterday. One succumbed to his injuries later. Last evening Tiger guerrillas exploded a claymore mine in Neerveli (near Jaffna) wounding a soldier and a civilian.
Even before the March 27 SLMM statement was issued, LTTE's chief negotiator Anton Balasingham had told Norway's Minister for International Development,Erik Solhieim the Government had not kept its pledge at the Geneva talks and disbanded paramilitary groups.

"And now, what better a testimonial than one from Hagrup Haukland's SLMM to place the Government on the dock in Geneva," a Cabinet Minister who is a member of the negotiating team for Geneva told The Sunday Times.

Speaking on grounds of anonymity he said this is not the first time Norwegian Heads of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission have acted partially and in a manner grossly harmful to the peace process.

He pointed out that retired Norwegian Major General Tryggve Tellefsen once wanted the Government of Sri Lanka to recognise the LTTE's sea going arm, the Sea Tigers as a "de facto naval force." It no doubt was a world record for retired Norwegian soldiers, most of who have learnt to use a gun only in a firing range and never fought a war, to demand from a sovereign nation that they accept the navy of a guerrilla group fighting for separation. In other words that would have been the only Navy in the world without a State.

The same Maj. Gen. (retd.) Telefsen was responsible for an SLMM ruling that evoked laughter worldwide. That was after a group of 17 Chinese nationals fishing in the north eastern seas onboard "Fu Yuan" were massacred on March 20, 2003 by armed men who came in boats. This was 17 nautical miles off the shores of Mullaitivu where one of the major Sea Tiger bases is located. He ruled that it was the work of a "third force." Until today, no such third force has emerged in the high seas.
After strong protests from the Government of Sri Lanka, Maj. Gen. Tellefsen was recalled for "consultations" in Oslo. He never returned thereafter.

It is these and other acts of the SLMM monitors led by retired military men from Norway who seek fortunes in overseas assignments who are responsible for denting Oslo's image in the eyes of the Sri Lankan public. This was among the reasons why President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration called upon Norway to limit its role to being a facilitator and leave monitoring of the ceasefire to another party. Thus Sweden has taken over the role and one of its military men, Major General (retd.) Ulf Henricsson became Head of SLMM. One can only hope he would be different from the Tellefsens and Hauklands whose conduct reminded some Sri Lankans about the Colonial Governors during the pre independence era.
This assumes greater significance in view of remarks made by Mr Haukland that the LTTE were not terrorists but freedom fighters. He held the view that the Sri Lanka Army cannot win the war.

The remarks came during a meeting with Defence Secretary as reported in The Sunday Times (Situation Report) last week. There is a sequel now.
LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham asked a Colombo based journalist last Thursday whether he had read former SLMM Head Hagrup Haukland's letter to The Sunday Times. When he said he was unaware, a copy was sent to him from London. A senior Norwegian emissary messaged me to say his Government had nothing to do with Mr. Haukland's letter. It was Mr. Haukland's own and had to be treated accordingly. I told him that strange enough The Sunday Times had not received any letter though it was being circulated to other media. Some of them have been given private briefings where they had elaborated on veiled references in the letter purely to embarrass Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa.

Mr. Haukland's letter was NOT received by The Sunday Times until last night. This raises the question whether he only wanted the LTTE, the Norwegian Government and his "friendly media" to know his tale. In the interest of truth, here are the events that followed The Sunday Times (Situation Report) disclosure last week. First to Mr. Haukland's letter that never arrived at The Sunday Times:

"Colombo, 6th April 2006
To the Editor of The Sunday Times
I am writing to you in the hope that you will take note of my protest and take the appropriate action.
"In your last edition of The Sunday Times, namely the Situation Report, written by a journalist named Iqbal Athas, I was wrongly accused of having said two very detrimental statements.

"First Mr. Athas in his report claims that I had during a meeting with Defence Secretary on 23rd of March labelled the LTTE organisation "Freedom Fighters." I have never used that phrase to categorize the LTTE and I do not think that is up to the SLMM to make such categorization. Mr. Athas' claim has had detrimental effect for SLMM and has been subsequently quoted by various politicians and the alike. To write such false statements does not only have detrimental effect on the SLMM organization but to the peace process as a whole.

"Secondly Mr. Athas claims that I had told Defence Secretary during that same meeting that I did not think that the Sri Lankan armed forces could win the LTTE in an armed conflict. This is taking my words completely out of context and Mr. Athas has decided to ignore my point. What I did say at that meeting was that I did not believe that there was a military solution to the conflict because in my opinion which is based on my experiences in Sri Lanka the LTTE does not have the military capacity to win a war against the GOSL and the GOSL likewise does not have the capacity to win a war against the LTTE.

"The statement I made is not only my own opinion but that of the International Community that has also clearly voiced that it does not believe that an armed conflict can provide any kind of solution to the current problems in Sri Lanka.

"At the meeting in question, which involved the participation of the Defence Secretary as well as the New Head of Mission of the SLMM, General Major (sic) Ulf Henricsson, the Defence Secretary was highly aggressive against the SLMM, the Norwegian facilitator as well as the International Community for not reaching a settlement to this conflict. During the meeting the Defence Secretary himself made some highly controversial statements which would probably be seen as extremely explosive and I sincerely hope that his comments do not reflect the official position of the GOSL (Government of Sri Lanka).

"I would like to point out that the CFA document is purely based on the willingness of the Parties to keep the peace. It is ultimately the Parties' own responsibility to reach peace but only with the assistance of the International Community, the Norwegian facilitator with the back (sic) from the SLMM. The Defence Secretary in my honest opinion was avoiding any responsibility of the conflict but rather tried to put the blame on those who are here sincerely in Sri Lanka trying to do whatever in their power to put and (sic) end a conflict which has had detrimental effect on this country.

"I demand that you take my comments on board and make corrections in your next edition to clarify what was really said during that meeting so that these false statements cannot be used politically against the SLMM or the parties. I would also like to urge The Sunday Times to make sure that when such reports are written in the future quoting SLMM that the journalists in question make sure to contact the SLMM so that these false statements can be avoided.

Irresponsible journalism has had very negative impact on the peace process in Sri Lanka and it is high time that journalists and editors are held responsible for what they publish because in my opinion the Media in Sri Lanka has in fact has (sic) had a very negative and sometimes detrimental effect on the Peace Process. "A copy of this letter has been sent to the media and to the Norwegian Facilitator - Hagrup Haukland."

Though Mr. Haukland has written the above letter as a private individual, he was then Head of the SLMM. He met Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa on March 23 afternoon in the company of his successor (and now Head of SLMM), retired Swedish Major General Ulf Henricsson.
The Sunday Times read out the contents of Mr. Haukland's letter to Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa. This is what he had to say:
"The only claim that is correct in Mr. Haukland's letter is the fact that I was "highly aggressive against the SLMM."

I was. I could not bear his remarks and was very angry. He told me that LTTE should not be compared with Al Qaeda. They are not terrorists. They are freedom fighters, he (Mr. Haukland) declared. He also told me the Sri Lanka Army cannot win this war. He made NO reference to the LTTE being able or unable to win the war. I am still angry he had to make those remarks at the Ministry of Defence. That is why I told him to act impartially as Head of the SLMM and not hinder the peace process."
I told Defence Secretary Rajapaksa that sections of the media, particularly those openly backing the LTTE, had been carefully briefed on the contents of Mr. Haukland's letter to The Sunday Times. This is particularly in respect of his allegation that "the Defence Secretary himself made some highly controversial statements which would probably be seen as extremely explosive and I sincerely hope that his comments do not reflect the official position of the GOSL."

According to this briefing, to back up the claims made in his letter by Mr. Haukland, it has been pointed out to them that Mr. Rajapaksa told Mr. Haukland that the Government and the Karuna faction would get together to defeat the LTTE. The Sunday Times asked Defence Secretary Rajapaksa for his comments.

"In the first place I don't know whether such a canard has been spread. Whoever says that is just insane. There is no need for me to make such stupid remarks. This may be a ruse to purely embarrass and malign me when I take up issues with the SLMM over matters of national interest. I will fight them again if they make insulting remarks like what Mr. Haukland said. I will not be intimidated by devious acts or manipulations."

As for me, I am not inclined to accept the virtues of good journalism preached by a nondescript retired Norwegian soldier. Mr. Haukland's only claim to fame is the references to his name in the SLMM press releases. It is fortunate that he is not tasked to monitor the media as part of his former job. I had in fact told former Norwegian Special envoy and now Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim much earlier about the double standards adopted by some Heads of SLMM. I told him they chose to shut out some media.

Last week's The Sunday Times disclosure on Mr. Haukland's controversial utterances prompted the National Patriotic Movement to declare that the SLMM was protecting the LTTE. Dr. Gunadasa Amerasekera, the President of PNM, asked "what could we expect from a group of foreigners who describe the Tigers who are trying to divide the country as "Freedom Fighters."

In the Situation Report last week I reported that serious concerns have been raised at the highest levels over some matters in the armed services and the Police. I also referred to acrimonious exchanges between some armed forces top brass during a weekly meeting at the Joint Operations Headquarters. I said that President Rajapaksa is expected to initiate corrective action upon his return from Pakistan. Such measures have already got under way particularly in the Sri Lanka Army.

When Mahinda Rajapaksa was voted President last year, he made clear to Defence Secretary Rajapaksa that a new policy should be tried out. That was to give the armed forces commanders a free hand to run their organisation after making their own appointments, effecting transfers and promotions. This policy was based on President Rajapaksa's commitment to ensure political interference did not affect the workings of the armed forces. An authoritative government source told The Sunday Times "the free hand given by President Rajapaksa has been grossly abused.

Complaints of revenge, favouritism, punishment transfers and elevation or posting of lesser qualified and junior persons to important slots in the field were becoming rampant causing disenchantment and lowering of morale."
In addition there have also been complaints of attempts to reinstate into service persons who have been discharged on grounds of serious violation of discipline. Another complaint has been the punishment of officers who had enforced discipline and the reversal of actions taken by them.

There have also been concerns in the Army hierarchy over moves by some top rung officers to retire. This includes officers who have won acclaim for their contribution to counter terrorism and the heroic role they played during offensive operations against Tiger guerrillas.

The Sunday Times learns that the Government is to set up an Armed Forces Management Board made up of competent persons including retired military officials with a proven track record. Their task will be to examine and report to the Defence Secretary on the suitability of candidates for postings, promotions, discharge from service and other related matters. Armed forces Commanders are to be told to make the recommendations to the Defence Secretary who in turn will refer it to the management board. This is whilst inquiries are under way into some recent actions.

Armed forces commanders have already been advised to avoid making controversial statements that border on Government policy. They have been told that the LTTE was exploiting such statements which were not part of their brief. The Government is also expected to revamp or strengthen media matters relating to the military to ensure the efforts of the Government and the respective institutions are projected to the country than those of individuals.

These new measures by President Rajapaksa are to ensure there are no impediments to the armed forces and the police being kept at a higher level of preparedness. This is particularly in the wake of mounting threats by Tiger guerrillas to step up violence. Towards this end a number of other corrective measures are expected.

In the light of these developments, Sri Lanka ushers in another Sinhala and Hindu New Year at a critical moment in her history. The coming weeks and months will tell what portends.

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