A year after defeating the LTTE:
SL Army gears for ‘peace time ops’
By Shanika SRIYANANDA
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) stands tall and proud among all the armies
in the world after spearheading a successful military campaign against
the 30-year terrorism and annihilating the LTTE, the most ruthless
terrorist outfit in the world.
Today an army of over 203,000 men, the SLA celebrates its 61st
birthday with a humble pledge to contribute all its might to make Sri
Lanka the ‘Wonder of Asia’, which goal President Mahinda Rajapaksa is
striving to achieve after providing leadership to defeat the LTTE.
Being a strong fighting army during its three-decade struggle to
destroy terrorism, the SLA is in a transitional period, converting to a
peace-time Army.
“My biggest challenge is to convert the Army into a peace-time army”,
Army Commander Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya said.
“A big transformation is required to re-set their mentality and for
them to understand how a peace-time Army should perform. They who have
performed extremely well in battle have to perform equally well or
better in peace-time”, he said.
The Army Chief said while the SLA was the main ‘guardian’ in
maintaining the hard-earned peace, it would contribute its full energy
in development activities.
Discussing the SLA’s role in an era of peace, he reiterated that the
SLA was saddled with the vital responsibility of taking care of over
20,000 disabled soldiers who ‘sacrificed their today for the country’s
tomorrow’. He requested the people to contribute their share to provide
them a better tomorrow.
Following are excerpts of the interview:
Q: The Sri Lanka Army celebrates its 61st anniversary. How do you
evaluate the growth of the Army and its achievements?
A: Yes, the Army has come a long way since its birth. It has
performed extremely well during its 61 years. Today, it stands proud
especially after its commitment to end the 30-year-old curse - LTTE
terrorism.
The SLA, which was grown from a ceremonial army to a very
professional fighting army, has evolved to be one of the world’s best
armies during the past 61 years.
Its biggest achievement is its contribution to annihilate the LTTE
completely. When we consider its achievement, the guidance came from
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is the Commander-in-Chief, who was
committed from the day he became the Head of State. This undue
commitment and dedication to end terrorism from the Lankan soil enabled
the Army to advance without leaving room for the LTTE to grow.
Winning a battle was never a problem for the Army but unfortunately
there was no will to eradicate the LTTE completely. We had beaten them
whenever required and won the battles but there was no commitment from
the higher level that required to continue the battle to a finish.
But this situation took a different turn under the present
leadership. The Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa too was
committed to end the LTTE terrorism and he was the live wire throughout
the battle. Since the commitment came from the top, the Army was able to
achieve victory.
We are proud of our achievement.
Q: Do you have plans to re-organise the Army in the post-conflict
era?
A: Yes, as per the instructions given by the Secretary of Defence,
the Army is to take over the security of the country. As the first step
under this re-organising program, the areas controlled by the Special
Task Force (STF) will be taken by the Army. Army bases will be
established as camps in every district.
The Army’s presence in the North and East will be gradually reduced.
We have consolidated enough and the Police are capable of taking over
the normal day-to-day activities.
But the Army will be available like any other army and will be ready
to come when there is a requirement. That is why we are getting into
every district and be available all over.
In peace time, the Police have a major role to play in maintaining
law and order. If the Police can’t handle the situation, the STF, which
is available in every district, will be called. If both can’t control
the situation, the Army will be called in.
Q: For more than three decades the Army had to fight to end LTTE
terrorism. What would be the Army’s role in a peaceful Sri Lanka?
A: In peace time, the Army is saddled with similar responsibilities
though we are not fighting any more. While maintaining our proficiency,
gained through hard work, we will continue to contribute largely to
maintain security and also development activities of the country.
The Army will train soldiers further, not to fight but to serve in a
peaceful country. They need to be aware of their responsibilities to
handle the situations in a peaceful era.
Since a large number was enlisted, we have to ensure that the other
training required for a soldier, is given to them to serve in a
situation where there is no fighting. At the moment, security-wise there
is no task for the Army, other than maintaining security in the North
and the East for a year or two until police take over security
completely.
Q: In the past three decades the SLA’s strength has increased
manifold. How are you going to deal with this huge man-power?
A: President Rajapaksa wants to make the country the ‘Wonder of
Asia’. The Army is supporting to achieve this goal. The Army is already
involved in a lot of development projects - de-mining, road
construction, rehabilitation of irrigational tanks, building or
repairing houses and bridges.
We are involved in other nation building projects in constructing
Suriya Wewa, Pallekelle and Khettarama Cricket Stadiums, public grounds
- Biyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex and rehabilitating tanks in
Wilpattu National Park.
Apart from Army’s contribution for nation building projects, the Army
is doing work with the Urban Development Authority. These are not profit
making ventures.
The Army is also involved in agricultural work in a big way. We have
taken over some of the former LTTE farms in the North - Udayarkattukulam,
Vellankulam and Nachchikuda. In Kandekadu in the East, we have an agri-project
with the help of the rehabilitated ex-combatants.
Throughout our service, we achieved targets based on three aspects -
Discipline, Efficiency and Effectiveness. Whatever work we have done, we
did it with dedication and the return was high. The disciplined soldiers
of the Army will contribute to develop the country.
The soldiers have helped construct over 4,475 new houses and to
re-build 2,750 houses in the North, and the East.
Q: Tamil parties in the North and East, particularly in the North are
pointing out that more military bases are coming up there. What do you
have to say about this claim?
A: Yes, the Army is now establishing formal camps in the North and
the East because we didn’t have permanent camps there. During the
operation we started off from Vavuniya and went to the target with
temporary bases. There is a requirement to have continuous security to
make sure that terrorism will not rise again. One of the reasons for the
previous situation was the Army’s poor presence all over the country.
Through the conflict, we have learnt lessons and now we want to
maintain security in very important places so that we can have an
effective security system for the benefit of the population.
If we are permanently present in the North and the East, first that
population will benefit and the country will be benefited in the long
run. We need to acquire State land to establish these permanent bases.
Meanwhile, private land, where we had temporary military bases, will
be handed over to their owners.
The Jaffna High Security Zone has been re-demarcated. According to
the plan, the Zone has shrunk and 2,392 houses will be released to the
owners. Over 11,960 people will be benefited by the new adjustment.
There are six State buildings, seven schools, 26 Hindu kovils, two
churches and 2,153 wells and six other buildings in the zone. But it
will take time because the zone needs to be de-mined.
Q: Will there be more new Security Forces (SF) headquarters including
in Hambantota?
A: The SF Headquarters in Mullaitivu was opened last year. The other
permanent military bases in Mullaitivu are the Forward Maintenance
Headquarters, the 68 Divisional HQ and 591 Brigade.
Under SF Headquarters Kilinochchi, the permanent military bases are
the 65 Divisional HQ and 571 Brigade. The 55 Division at Veththalakerni
and the Advanced Dressing Centre Task Force VII in Iiyakachchi and the
Commando Training School in Vedithalathivi are the permanent military
bases under the SF HQ Jaffna.
The new SF HQ in Hambantota will come up with the 12 Division as
Hambantota will be the capital of the Southern Province. There will be
lots of commercial activities and a need to strengthen the security.
Q: The Army is recovering military equipment from the former LTTE
dominated areas. What would you do with this weaponry?
A: We have recovered large stocks of military equipment and will
continue to recover. Most of the weapons that we are recovering cannot
be used as they were buried or kept in a well for long. We have a
procedure, where the qualified technical officers who are handling
explosives attached to the SLA Engineering unit, recommends the
usability of the weaponry.
They are to recommend their usability. Most of the unusable ones will
be destroyed and only the serviceable weapons will be taken into the
inventory to include them in our stocks.
Q: With the defeat of the LTTE, the Army’s contribution for the
victory was highly praised the world over. Are there any requests to
train foreign military personnel on the Lankan military strategy?
A: There are several offers from different countries. Therefore, the
Army has developed some courses including the tactics and methods we
used in the recent victory. We have designed three courses mainly on
various methods we used in countering insurgency. They will be held in
Army Training school in Maduru Oya, Commando Training School in Kuda Oya
and Special Training School in Maduru Oya. Also a special course for
snipers. There is a good demand for a sniper course as we have used lots
of snipers at the end battle to identify the correct target.
These courses are of three-month’s duration and can accommodate 20 to
30 students.
The courses have been finalized and modules given to the Ministry of
Defence, which will be writing to all foreign missions about the
courses.
The first course will be starting from January 5, next year and the
requests for military training have mainly come from SARRC countries.
The US has also shown an interest.
Q: There are thousands of disabled soldiers whose sacrifices paved
way for the victory. Are you satisfied with the work done for the
welfare of the disabled soldiers and their families? What are the new
programs on the cards?
A: Yes, they have given their today for our tomorrow. The day I took
over duties as the Commander of the Army I announced my plans for taking
care of the soldiers. I strongly believe that our responsibility is to
take care of them. The Army and the Ministry of Defence is fully
committed to look after the welfare of the disabled soldiers.
The soldiers with minor disabilities have returned to their normal
day to-day activities but our main concern is those who are permanently
disabled. There are 228 such soldiers. They cannot go home as they need
to be looked after by someone permanently and their families cannot do
so.
This is the reason to initiate the project called ‘Brave Hearts’,
which raises funds by the Army Seva Vanitha Unit to build wellness
centers - the resorts like hospitals - to look after these soldiers for
life time. The ‘Abimansala’, the first resort is being built near the
Nuwara Wewa in Anuradhapura and will give an excellent environment to
make them happy.
This is the first such centre and we will construct in provinces
closer to their homes. We have selected 52 soldiers with permanent
disabilities and 32 can’t even get into a wheel-chair. They will be
given a specially designed ward.
There will be cottages where their family members can stay with them
for few days, provided with cooking facilities to give the soldiers a
homely feeling.
It is a fully equipped resort where the soldiers have facilitated for
their disability. Lots of donors have joined with the Army to build the
resort and it will be opened in January next year.
The Ministry of Defence also has a similar project to look after the
disabled soldiers and its first project is the ‘Ranaviru Arana’ at
Aththidiya.
Over 20,000 disabled have registered with the Ministry. The Army Seva
Vanitha Unit is taking care of other disabled soldiers attached to each
regiment.
I have already discussed with the Defence Secretary about a project
to perform corrective surgeries. There are some who can recover fully
after such corrections. But it costs lots of money and some doctors at
the private hospitals are ready to help us.
I have made a request for additional allocation from the Ministry.
At the moment I don’t know how many such soldiers are there but I
know a fair number need to undergo such surgeries and can be 100 percent
normal after the surgery.
Q: With the military achievement some Army top officials have been
granted diplomatic postings. Will this trend continue?
A: This decision was taken by the Ministry of Defence as there was a
requirement to keep a sharp eye on LTTE activities internationally. The
LTTE remnants are still active and they strive for their cause - to show
the world the LTTE is still alive. Those military officials were
assigned to have a good monitoring system and to alert and update their
respective countries about the LTTE’s moves and illegal activities.
It has proved effective and appointing military officials for
diplomatic posting will be continued. I personally think this is a good
opportunity for the military officers who were in the operation to have
a different experience and they will also get a good exposure.
Q: What would the major challenges for the Army be in the post
conflict era?
A: The major challenge for the Army is to shift from ‘fighting
experience’ to the ‘peace time activities’. For me it is commanding a
peaceful army. Therefore, the major challenge for the Army is while
maintaining its proficiency having the transformation and looking after
the huge manpower with the limited allocations.
I should say 99.9 percent of the Army personnel are soldiers who had
joined the Army during the war. Only few officers, who have over
30-years of service, have the experience of the peace time Army.
Therefore, the majority who joined the Army who were recruited during
the war period have only seen the fighting capabilities of the Army.
They are not aware of the responsibilities of a peace time Army.
A big transformation is required to set their mentality and for them
to understand how a peace time Army should perform.
They who have performed extremely well during the battle have to
perform equally well or better in the peace time.
Therefore, there is a requirement to re-structure the Army to suit it
to the peace time. We have already received the guidelines from the
Defence Secretary and the Army is today gradually looking back to become
a peace time Army while learning what it should do practically.
To adjust the Army for this future, training the soldiers is the
vital requirement. We are doing it at the moment. The other task is to
provide the required facilities for the soldiers.
During the war time soldiers contributed their might with less
facilities and they did not bother about comforts because they had a
target to achieve and were fully focused for the mission.
But during the peace time, the soldiers expect facilities and the
challenge is to provide them the required and entitled facilities with a
limited financial allocation.
Q: Armies in the world are modernized with hi-tech facilities. Will
the SLA too go for hi-tech?
A: As there is no threat of terrorism, there is no requirement for
the Army to get hi-tech military equipment. There could be internal
struggles, terrorism or any other situations that may arise in future
and for that purpose the Army is fully equipped with the existing
military equipment.
There is no requirement for the Army for any advanced technology.
But the Army needs to go for hi-tech in the administrative
activities. We have already started networking the whole army, which was
never done before. All our formation and regimental centers are in the
network. Once the networking is completed, we will soon get the
automation.
This will minimize wastage and also facilitate the soldiers far away
to get their official requirement done.
Today a soldier, who wants to reserve a room in the Kataragama Rest
has to come all the way to do that but once the computerization is
completed this task can be done through the networking. We will go for
hi-tech to improve the efficiency of the Army. I am sure that we can do
this before Army’s next anniversary.
Q: Are there any plans to send more Lankan soldiers to UN missions
like in Haiti?
A: The Army has signed an agreement with the UN with a commitment to
send 5,000 soldiers. We are ready to commit and waiting for the UN
requests for deployments.
There are 950 in Haiti. The latest offer to deploy Sri Lankan
soldiers comes from the Lebanon. The officials have visited Sri Lanka
and completed the pre-deployment inspections and everything is
finalized. A batch of 150 soldiers is ready to go to Lebanon.
Q: Are you satisfied with your work done a year after defeating the
LTTE?
A: Yes, very much as I took over a fighting Army, which was poorly
administered. I am not blaming anybody but due to fighting situation
every thing was concentrated for the fighting. As I said commanding a
peace time army is a difficult task and at the moment I am putting
everything back into order.
The Sri Lanka Army needs to get back to its original army. Only very
few know what the Army did those days.
We have to look into accountability for what we did during the
battle. I am now digging to sort out things that the Army purchased over
the past years.
An officer holding an appointment needs to be accountable for what
his division utilized during the war. Gradually we are completing this
and things are in order.
Q: As the security forces Commander of Wanni during the battle you
had a busy life. How do you see life now as the Commander of a proud
Army?
A: I should say there is no big change for me but the only difference
is that I am in Colombo. Commitments and the workload, though it differs
from fighting time, are the same. But I think now I have more
responsibilities.
When I was the Wanni SF Commander and when a mistake happened there
was someone above me to correct it but now I am the boss and I have to
be accountable for everything. I am responsible for a big Army.
I am happy that I am commanding one of the best Armies in the world. |