Editorial

The shooting of an accused ‘kingpin’ from the narco business inside a courtroom last week shot into focus the nexus between crime, the narco business, the underworld and ‘national security’. While one group in the Government downplayed the incident as an isolated incident not to be exaggerated into the realm of ‘national security,’ on the other hand, it was overplaying the incident, saying the Government cannot be toppled by this recent crime wave. None can argue that the matter, at the very least, fell into the ‘public security’ domain, which is inclusive of and overlapping into the province of national security. It is a distinction without a difference.

The brazen shooting opened a can of worms. The President reacted instantly. Naturally. For, in their time in the Opposition, the NPP were the vociferous ones bringing up the subject of escalating crime and ridiculing the then governments for inaction. Our Political Editor, in his commentary, deals with these aspects in greater detail.

In the recent crime wave, deserters have been identified with their involvement in the contract killings on behalf of the crime syndicates. In a seemingly knee-jerk reaction, the President, learning the shooter was an Army commando, summoned the Generals and ordered the rounding up of all the deserters.

During the separatist insurrection not so long ago, many soldiers simply could not stand the heat of battle and ran away from the battlefield. These deserters were then gainfully employed down Civvy Street. However, like the landmines that were left behind after the armed conflict ended in 2009, deserters with firearms training were lured by the big bucks on offer to do the bidding of different parties wanting their ‘expertise’.

These are the natural remnants of long battles around the world. Some are organised into mercenary groups that have the tacit blessings of the legitimate governments themselves. The then Government of Sri Lanka recruited KMS Ltd. (Keenie Meenie Services), a British private army that was set up by former officers of the SAS (Special Air Service). The SAS itself was set up in 1941 by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as an undercover unit to fight behind German enemy lines, breaking every rule possible. They were called ‘the Rogue Heroes’. Despite Britain’s crusade on allegations of war crimes against Sri Lanka’s military during the armed conflict, they are unwilling to prosecute KMS mercenaries who helped the Sri Lankan military. Both Ukraine and Russia are now recruiting ex-soldiers from Sri Lanka as proxies for their war in Europe.

The Acting Police Chief has admitted that the criminal gangs have infiltrated his service, including those in service right now. A lot of work has to be done, not least to work in the shadows collecting intelligence—and act on such intelligence. In the United States, the debate continues as to why the CIA did not share the intelligence it had on the 9/11 attackers with the FBI. What a price they paid, ultimately. Yet it seems nothing has been learned from the Easter Sunday bombings—the result of ignoring intelligence. In the Hulftsdorp shooting, there seems to have been some information that never got passed down from Gampaha to Colombo, raising questions about how deliberate these ‘lapses’ might be.

In the midst of this formidable assignment, the Police and the Police Commission are in a tug-of-war over transfers and the like. The underworld will revel in this confused state of affairs as morale hits a low. What is happening is terrorism, and a party that pooh-poohed the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) while in opposition may have to see things with fresh eyes in government. They have to respond to the people’s demand for safety and security. There is a job to do.

 Race for the minerals: Whither Sri Lanka

 

A New Delhi datelined press release was published in the local newspapers announcing that a Sri Lankan minister had been in India and discussed some form of collaboration between the two countries on the exploitation of minerals in Sri Lanka. But the press release was not issued in Colombo.

The New Delhi report is what the Indian side says. That a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sri Lanka on ‘Cooperation in the Field of Geology and Mineral Resources’ is on the cards. So, are the people of Sri Lanka not supposed to know more?

The press release states that India is in the final stages of agreeing on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Cooperation in the Field of Geology and Mineral Resources’. It highlights that Sri Lanka’s graphite and mineral sands are deposits formed primarily on the island’s beaches due to the specific gravity of the mineral grains. They are a major source of zirconium, titanium, rare earths, etc.—the ‘oil of the future’ for advanced high-tech and clean energy technology.

In a separate development, India has recently submitted an application to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA) in Jamaica for exploration in the Indian Ocean’s international seabed area, which overlaps with the ocean boundary claimed by Sri Lanka under its extended continental shelf submission at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS). India has objected to this claim by Sri Lanka. The resultant deadlock will be discussed later this month at the ISBA. How prepared is Sri Lanka to meet this challenge? What is Sri Lanka’s position with regard to these potential sovereign assets and ocean resources?

These developments also connect to the June 2023 conclusion of the BBNJ (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction) Treaty, which provides for the protection of the ocean beyond national boundaries. Sri Lanka signed this convention last year. The treaty coming into force will complicate claims for exploration and extraction of deep-sea minerals due to the BBNJ’s ocean conservation emphasis. On land, Sri Lanka’s mining industry is buried in corruption while unexploited resources sit under the ground. Efforts to make use of the minerals are circuitous, ambiguous, politicised and littered with obstacles.

Under the sea, the critical minerals race by the big powers, India included, is expected to heat up in 2025 and beyond with China ahead in the race. The world is also witnessing the defining role that access to critical minerals is playing out in geopolitics with the current US bid to grab a deal in the most disgraceful, bullying manner from Ukraine as was seen on Friday at the White House spectacle for its critical minerals as payback for American funding for the war against Russia.

The resource-rich countries from Congo to Chile, in the meantime, will want their fair share of the ‘net-zero’ minerals. Where is Sri Lanka in all of this?