Post LTTE – What to do with the forces?

Sri Lankan Army commandos march during Independence Day celebrations in Colombo.

Photo credits – Buddhika Weerasinghe / REUTERS. Via Boston Globe / The Big Picture.

I was recently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shooting Dr. Paltha Kohona, during an interview by Savithri Rodrigo for Benchmark. Two questions which she asked were interesting, and deserve a bit of exploration. The first of which, I take up today.

The first, was around the fate of the Sri Lankan military forces following the military defeat, or rather the crushing, of the LTTE. A worry in the minds of some was what to do with an expansive and expensive military outfit in a peacetime scenario.

Kohona’s response, was that the role of the forces would shift from that of a fighting force to a peacekeeping force, within and outside Sri Lanka. He said that battle hardened troops can be deployed elsewhere as part of UN peacekeeping missions. If embarrassing situations such as the Haiti sexual abuse scenario can be averted, then this seems a logical course of action.The other point he raised, was to use them in the development process in the areas newly brought under Government control.

But there are only so many wars being fought around the globe, and only so many places for Sri Lankan troops to accommodate. So even if alternate solutions of this form are implemented, the long term slimming of the military outfit is a necessity, for two main reasons.

1. War is an expensive venture, and running a military is expensive. The expense, in a moment of honesty, was commented on by Minister Maithreepala Sirisena in 2007, when he said “We may be thrilled to see the spectacle of multi-barrel attacks, but what we don`t realize is the price we all have to pay for such attacks” while addressing an SLFP gathering in Polonnaruwa. He added that the country was losing almost one hundred jobs with each Multi-barrel rocket fired on the LTTE. This was in 2007, when the war was at a much minor scale. Reports say the defence budget for 2009 was close to Rs. 200 billion.

2. Sri Lanka needs to be demilitarized, for the emotional battle scars to heal. After a long fought civil war has come to an end, the slow and tedious process of removing the memories of violent conflict, bomb explosions, mangled bodies, killed relatives, numerous checkpoints, and midnight search operations have to heal, especially for those who were most vulnerable, i.e., Tamils, for the normal state of life to come back. Constant reminders of a grim era in the form of uniforms will not help.

A problem occuring however, would be unemployment that would be created when shedding weight from the military establishments. The solution for that, would lie within the results of the actions itself. The money which would be saved from the slimming of the forces, should be used for development purposes in the areas that have been newly brought under Government control, and the deep South. But at the same time not forgetting the so far forgotten Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces – a result of the political importance of the North and the East as a voting block, and in gaining credit from the international community.

But ultimately, Sri Lanka needs to be demilitarized. There would be no justification for a large armed force. Unless, fear tactics are used to keep it there, and justify its need.