Military presence in North, a sine qua non

 Sri Lanka achieved the near impossible almost five years ago when its valiant Security Forces militarily crushed the world's most ruthless terrorist organisation - the LTTE, and vanquished its leadership at the Nandikadal lagoon.

The crushing of the LTTE outfit by May 18, 2009 ushered in peace to the country and people breathed a sigh of relief after three decades of terrorism which inflicted untold misery on a 21 million people.

The Government gave top priority to development in the North and the East and launched infrastructure development projects in these provinces. The preferential treatment for the Northern and the Eastern Provinces over the other seven provinces resulted in the two provinces recording an unprecedented growth rate of over 25 percent, compared to around seven percent national growth.

Steps were taken to restore normalcy in these provinces as the people in the areas began a new lease of life with enhanced living standards, improved livelihood facilities and higher purchasing power.

The land acquired during the height of LTTE terror were returned to their original owners and almost all high security zones were dismantled, except for a handful which were strategically important to maintain national security. Travel restrictions to the North were lifted.

Civilian travel between the North and the South improved considerably and money flowed to the North as the farmers in the area marketed their crops to the other provinces. Civilian life in the North was restored with the opening of police stations in all areas to restore law and order.

The military was almost confined to barracks, except for the Security Forces' social welfare measures to lend a helping hand to the people who opened a new chapter in their lives after suffering for years on end due to brutal terrorism. In most instances, the civilians sought help from the Security Forces to renovate houses and build roads and bridges.

Nevertheless, the Security Forces kept a tab on security in the two provinces although several military camps had been dismantled from their original locations and the soldiers were assigned to the nearest Security Forces camp in the area. The least number of camps had been maintained since then, thereby reducing the military strength in the North and the East to a large extent.

Although certain Western countries and some INGOs have been making a mountain of a mole hill, on the few Security Forces camps remaining in the North and the East, the defence authorities were constrained to maintain them with reduced military strength as it was vital to maintain such camps in strategic locations in the larger interests of national security.

Any sovereign state would quite naturally maintain its military camps in strategically important locations in the interest of national security. Regrettably, several Western countries assumed the role of self-appointed defence advisers to Sri Lanka and dictated to the authorities concerned as to where the military camps should be located.

Thanks to the farsightedness of the dynamic Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka adopted its defence strategy, ignoring the repeated requests from the West to dismantle the remaining military camps in the North.

It is now abundantly clear that certain Western countries had advised us to do so, under the guise of restoring civilian life, in order to help the now defunct LTTE terror outfit to make a comeback. Even a kindergarten child knows how the LTTE's international network and a section of the Tamil Diaspora worked unceasingly for the terror outfit to regroup outside Sri Lanka.

At the time the Tiger terrorists were militarily crushed, the Defence Secretary had a strategic plan whereby the LTTE could never resurrect itself again. It was purely due to the well-knit plan that we continue to enjoy the rich dividends of peace. Else, the LTTE rump, with the support of a few Western politicians who thrive on the Tamil Diaspora vote and funding, would have robbed Sri Lanka of its hard-earned peace.

It was due to the Security Forces vigilance in the North that they uncovered an attempt by the LTTE rump to lay the groundwork for regrouping. Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Kasian alias Gopi and two other LTTE activists were shot dead on April 11 when they attempted to flee the Army dragnet set up to apprehend them. All three were killed during the confrontation that ensued.

The Security Forces had gathered information from the public and traced the exact location where the three most wanted LTTE operatives were hiding. The Security Forces, during a cordon and search operation in Padaviya, got first-hand information on March 10 when they recovered four back-packs containing items such as pre-cooked food, medicine, clothes which were believed to be used by these terrorists.

The Army had narrowed down the cordon and search area and during the operation the three suspects attempted to make good their escape. The other two killed in the confrontation were identified as Sundaralingam Kajeepan alias Thevian and Navarathnam Navaneethan alias Appan. Thevian was identified as one of the key LTTE operatives involved in aerial LTTE attacks on the Anuradhapura Air Base and Kolonnawa Petroleum Storage in 2007.

Investigators trailing the suspects arrested several second and third Tiger cadres. Gopi escaped after shooting a police officer when the Security Forces attempted to apprehend him.

Although certain Western countries issued a plethora of statements when the two suspects were arrested for providing accommodation to Gopi, the true nature of the terrorist operation has now been revealed. The inordinate haste shown by the UK and the US in condemning the arrests of those who had provided shelter to Gobi, raises doubts whether they were pampering the LTTE rump.

When the names of the key suspects surfaced, the Security Forces made a thorough investigation in Pallai on the terrorists and Tiger sympathisers attempting to regroup for a possible comeback in the future. Investigators made several arrests that led to the recovery of arms, ammunition, explosives and other material in their possession.

The latest turn of events prove the dire need to retain the military in the North, despite the UK, Canada and the US pontificating to us that the Security Forces be completely withdrawn on the pretext of restoring civilian life.

Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has stressed the importance of the military in the North to ensure national security. The recent confrontation between the Security Forces and LTTE operatives in Vavuniya has underscored the need to keep the military on alert.

The gory incident, during which the three LTTE operatives were killed by the Security Forces in a fierce clash, proves beyond doubt that the steps taken by the Government to retain even a reduced military strength in the North are justified and a must to ensure national security.

Although certain countries exploited the recent sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva to castigate the Government for retaining the Security Forces even five years after the defeat of terrorism, it is now crystal clear that Sri Lanka had taken the right decision in the larger interests of the country's national security.

The Government will by no means jeopardise national security. The Security Forces paid the supreme sacrifice to wipe out terrorism by crushing the LTTE. Hence, no force on earth could rob that hard-earned peace, despite certain Western countries exerting undue pressure on the Government.

The Government, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, would always take the most appropriate decisions in the larger interests of national security and people's safety. They will certainly not yield to Western pressure under any circumstances although human rights have been made a tool to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.