21st November 1999

Fighting terrorism: The US-Lanka way

The United States Gov ernment has put on hold until January, next year, a programme to teach high-ranking Sri Lankan security officials how to cope with "terrorist incidents" that have an "impact on national level systems and international ramifications.''

The move follows a Sri Lanka Government request on the grounds that the prevailing security situation in the country does not permit a top-level delegation to leave Colombo.

Earlier the State Department had made elaborate preparations for a five-day seminar on Senior Crisis Management to be held in Washington D.C. from November 15.

It will now be re-scheduled for January next year, according to US officials here.

Funding for this seminar comes from the US Government's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Programme, which encourages government agencies that normally formulate a response to terrorist or other crisis.

The Government had nominated a team headed by S. Medawawa, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to take part in this seminar which has been exclusively tailor made for Sri Lanka. Others in the delegation are:

Sri Lanka Army: Major General Janaka Perera, Brigadier Colvin Jayaratne.

Sri Lanka Navy: Rear Admiral A.H.M. Razeek, Commander M.R.U. Siriwardena.

Sri Lanka Air Force: Air Vice Marshal Donald Perera, Air Commodore Ravi Arunthavanathan

Sri Lanka Police: DIG T. N. de Silva, DIG Lionel Karunasena, SSP Jayantha Paranathala, SSP H.L.E. Caldera, SSP Franklyn Burke.

Ministry of Social Services: S. Tennekoon.

Ministry of Public Administration: A.H. Wickremaratne.

Though it has a direct bearing on the subject matter of the seminar, the string of incidents in the Wanni, where security forces have lost considerable ground following Tiger guerrilla attacks, is by no means the reason for this seminar.

Planning for this State Department-sponsored event has been going on for several months.

The main purpose of the teaching programme, US officials explain, is to train senior Government personnel in what they call the "principles of establishing policy and command structures for managing terrorist incidents that have impact on national-level systems and/or have international ramifications." The programme is to draw examples from shortcomings that have arisen during incidents in the past and to train officials to marshal all available resources in a concerted approach to crisis resolution. The Sri Lankan group is to be called upon to resolve a fictional crisis.

The State Department had organised a similar programme exclusively for top officials from the Maldives.

Among the significant aspects the teaching programme is to cover are: Elements of crisis management, political violence and terrorism, public policy issues and development.

Review the planning process. Crisis communication.

Management, operations, support and logistics.

Special operational skills

Training and testing, exercises, crisis management, improvement planning.

This is the first time top Sri Lankan security officials are being given an opportunity by the US Government to avail themselves of a comprehensive teaching exercise under the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Programme.

Until now US support for Sri Lanka's counter terrorism campaign has come largely under "Operation Balanced Style" - where specialised arms of the security forces have received advanced training from their US counterparts.

Although US authorities do not formally pronounce this support as coming under counter terrorism assistance, the training skills imparted have gone to enhance the fighting capability of Sri Lankan troops in their battles against Tiger guerrillas. The US training programmes have been carried out on locations in the south, thus cautiously avoiding the operational areas in the north and east.

The new US assistance in the form of a training programmes comes in the backdrop of efforts by the Sri Lanka Government to step up its campaign to curb LTTE fund raising – a subject which was discussed extensively during the Interpol regional conference in Colombo in October this year.

Taking the case further in New York this week was Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, Legal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Alternate Representative of Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the Sixth Committee of the 54th Sessions of the UN General Assembly, Dr. Perera said "it has been our experience that recourse is being had by a terrorist group to electronic or wire communication systems or the Internet for international fund raising."

He added "front organisations of this group also engage in similar efforts, ostensibly for humanitarian purposes. Regulatory controls are therefore necessary, recognising that terrorist groups are now committing "cyber terrorism" by openly abusing Internet facilities for illegal activities with impunity. The need to prevent such criminality through enhanced international co-operation cannot be over-emphasised.

It was the head of Interpol, Randolph Kendall, who told the Interpol regional conference in Colombo that his organisation had uncovered evidence of the LTTE raising funds using the Internet. He, however, did not elaborate.

Dr. Perera noted that funds collected by terrorist groups in foreign countries are a major source of sustenance of their war machinery.

It is acknowledged that front organisations, some ostensibly with charitable, social or cultural goals, could be and are being used by terrorists as a cover for their fund-raising activities.

His remarks came as the Committee continued its discussions on measures to eliminate international terrorism following a proposal by France to formulate an International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

Sri Lanka is a state-party to six international conventions, including the most recent, the International Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, which has been given effect at the national level through the enactment of the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings Act No 11 of 1999.

The Fifth Column

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