In retrospect...
Highlights of interviews given
by Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the architect of the war
strategy who worked tirelessly under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's
political leadership to end terrorism in the country.
"Our armies were always professionally skilful to a
high degree. This is an Army that professionally grew up day by day
because of its dedicated set of officers. The Army could not keep
this standard due to political interferences. But without politics,
if we let the Army carry out their entrusted duties, they are fully
capable of accomplishing the expected result."
"We are performing our duties not to molest people.
It is purely to ensure the security of the public. A soldier has to
be on duty day and night, 24 hours of the day, 365 days. If you try
to observe the way he does his job, one will understand the
difficulty the soldier faces. They have to perform their duty in
equal sharpness. ........ It is not for their safety or mine. It is
not just to ensure the safety of the President. It is for the safety
and well-being of the whole country."
"We are enriched with much better human qualities.
We are capable of even teaching other cultures of our humane
qualities, ethics and human rights than those (Western world)
people. Our Army personnel were brought up in such a culture.
Breaching Human Rights is not their practice. I very well know that
our Army has a better record than many other armies in the world."
- TV Derana - August
19, 2007
"In terms of national
security, the first major fact is formulating a clear policy. The
Government has started with clear directives and it became easy for
the commanders to formulate their own security strategies. While
defeating terrorism, the Government strongly believes that the
grievances of the Tamil people should be solved politically. At the
same time, we believe that there is no use of having wonderful
solutions if we cannot implement them. This has happened for the
last 30 to 35 years. The biggest problem was not the means of
solving the problem, but the inability to implement them."
"We have launched very successful recruitment
campaigns and recruited nearly 50,000 for the three services
including 10,000 for the Police and over 20,000 for the Civil
Defence Force. Earlier we had difficulties in recruiting but it was
rectified as the Government has taken several measures to boost the
morale of the soldiers, to give them due recognition and uplift
their welfare."
"The morale of the soldiers is very important in an
operation. This is why I always believe that the most important
asset is not the sophisticated armoury but the man behind these
weapons. He is the deciding factor and that man must be trained
properly and his morale should be boosted while giving clear
directives and leadership. Civil society should also recognise the
service that they do to the country. When society respects them and
their contribution to protect the country, soldiers will be
motivated and even deserters will be encouraged to go back to the
battlefield."
"The Ministry of Defence has done a lot of things
for the welfare of military personnel. Finding schools for the
children of these soldiers was a problem earlier and now the
Government has solved it by establishing a school for their
children. The Government wants to upgrade this school which will
enrol over 200 children for the next year to one of the leading
schools of the country".
"The Government does not want to drag this for
years. Unlike in the 1980s there are criticisms by various INGOs,
NGOs, free media and various other peace groups despite the
sacrifices by the military. That is why the Government believes that
when the war is dragged on for too long, the terrorists find various
ways to discredit the Government by infiltrating in to various
avenues. So, we firmly believe that terrorism should not be dragged
on to another generation and should be ended soon. Otherwise, it
will be disastrous."
- Sunday Observer,
December 30, 2007
"We wanted to break
down the LTTE sea capabilities simultaneously with the ground
battles because it was a major problem to us. The inflow of weapons
to the country was a prolonged obstacle. From the inception we were
planning to end this. Thus, we were able to destroy 10 ships (owned
by the LTTE) and successfully crush the supply of weapons. We
launched air attacks on the Sea Tiger bases (camps). They were
successful. We had plans to destroy the LTTE leadership and its
resources such as heavy weapons. That was also a success. It greatly
supported ground battles."
"When one joins the Army, it is important to dispose
of and personal political connections while carrying out duties. It
is a good sign we find in our armies. We must ensure that the
qualities is maintained. We should not lose this quality
irrespective of the political aspirations and desire for power. It
is vital not to humiliate the armed forces locally or
internationally. The reason is the entire international community
has eyes on the tri-forces; even more than their focus on
politicians. It is a prestige for a country to have professionally
skilled Armed forces. Thus it is incorrect to dishonour the Forces.
To date, officers and soldiers have done their duty under every
regime."
"Terrorism has no political solution. It must be
defeated. Meantime, a political solution should also come in to
solve the problems faced by the Tamil people."
"How the war will end will be decided in the future.
My hope is to free myself from this and spend time at home
peacefully. I have no intention to become the leader of the country.
When this is over' my task is done."
- Lankadeepa, January
27, 2008
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