Columns

In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks in April 2019, the role and function of the Intelligence Agencies became the subject of discussion among politicians and opinion makers.

While the then Opposition (current Government ) alleged that the tragedy had been made possible because of the Yahapalana Government’s neglect or weakening of the National Intelligence Agencies, the evidence that is available in the public domain points to the contrary.

All the evidence in relation to the Easter attacks shows that there was sufficient intelligence of the impending attacks but it was the Law enforcement agencies who failed to act on such intelligence.

The role of intelligence has come to the fore once again with the removal of Susil Premajayantha from his post of State Minister. The former SLFP stalwart has been very critical of the Government in recent times and has even stated in Parliament that he does not wish to be a signal post and raise his hands for decisions made elsewhere.

His final outburst was at the Pola (market place) when he responded to a question by a journalist about the fertilizer issued faced by the country. In his answer Premajayantha said that the Agriculture Minister had failed and attributed the crisis in the Agricultural sector to Minister Mahindananda Alutgamage.

Soon after the subsequent Cabinet meeting the President removed the State Minister from office. The assumption was that he had been removed from office for his remarks at the Pola.

Things began to take a different turn thereafter. SLPP Parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachi told a Press Conference that the State Minister’s removal was because of reports received by the Government from intelligence agencies regarding Susil Premajayantha.

Former SLFP veteran Anura Priyadarshana Yapa came down hard on this comment and said that it was not the function of the intelligence agencies to go behind what politicians were doing.

Adding to the confusion was the statement made by Highways Minister Johnston Fernando. At a public meeting he expounded his conspiracy theory stating that it was strange that there were no gas explosions in Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala and the Northern Provinces but only in the rest of the country.

Minister Fernando said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had set in motion a secret investigation to ascertain why this was happening. When the Minister speaks about a secret investigation one presumes that he refers to a task handed over to the intelligence agencies.

In his enthusiasm to support a conspiracy theory the Minister has ignored the gas explosions that occurred at a hotel in Colombo, the death caused to a woman in Kandy and the gas explosion in a house in Mannar.

The report of the Committee appointed by the President to probe the gas explosions too does not support this conspiracy theory and have concluded that the explosions were due to a change in the composition of gas in the cylinders. It is therefore a mystery why a secret investigation has been launched into the gas issue.

There have also been instances of Government using intelligence officers in relation to governance in the past. Early into the assumption of office by the Government it was announced that intelligence officials would be used to monitor how Grama Niladharis were carrying out their duties. During the management of the COVID-19 pandemic too there were references to intelligence officials being involved in contact tracing of potential COVID-19 patients.

It is not surprising that the President who hails from a military background instinctively turns to the Armed Forces or intelligence officials rather than Administrative officials when the Government is faced with a problem.

However it is important that the role of intelligence agencies is clearly defined in a democratic society. Over the years the role of intelligence has become blurred. One recalls even in the past that there have been reports of Governments relying on intelligence reports to identify trends in public opinion in the run up to various Elections.

In order to protect and strengthen democracy intelligence agencies should only be used to gather information on national security related matters. Such reports need to be analysed and submitted to the relevant authorities.

Even if the intelligence agencies stumble on political intelligence, as they may do, when gathering information on security related matters such political information should be withheld from Government functionaries unless there is a clear security dimension.

To ensure that the intelligence agencies are able to function independently a proper structure has to be put in place. Only then will they be able to function professionally and distinguish between serving the State and serving the Government.

The efforts to set up such an independent structure should at best originate from Parliament. A multi party Select Committee assisted by experts in the field of intelligence could produce an excellent framework for the Intelligence Agencies to function in keeping with the needs of a democratic society

There is no need to over emphasise that if intelligence agencies concern themselves with matters other than national security related issues, it can have a chilling effect on the freedom of individuals and of civil society and therefore be detrimental to strengthening democracy in Sri Lanka.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)