'People and geo-strategic position our greatest strength'

The concluding address by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Chris Nonis, at the Defence Seminar 2014 which was held in Colombo recently.

We in Sri Lanka have a rich 2,500-year history, a spiritual and cultural aesthetic, of which we are justifiably proud. Our two greatest strengths are, first, our people, and second, our geo-strategic position.

Throughout all the difficulties we have had over the past centuries, from the colonial legacy, to the World Wars, to the 28-year battle against terrorism against the LTTE and to the tsunami, what has really stood us through these difficult times, has been the strength of our people.

It is an enormous tribute, particularly with the 28 year terrorist conflict, to the commitment, dedication, resilience and fortitude, of our Sri Lankan forces, who sacrificed their lives, and their families, in service to our Country. All of you in the Sri Lankan forces present here today, who have sacrificed so much for us, it is because of you that we are free and we owe all of you an enormous debt of gratitude.

Right to life

We achieved that freedom in May 2009, under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the pivotal role of the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In achieving that peace, we exercised the greatest human right, which is the right to life, because since then we have not had a single major terrorist incident, and all the people of Sri Lanka, Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim, Burgher, Malay, are free of the autocracy and hegemony of terrorism.

Several speakers during these sessions articulated the comprehensive, reconciliation, rehabilitation, reintegration and reconstruction program that has taken place since May 2009

But what is of real importance is the fact that our regional growth, as articulated by many of our speakers, was over 25%, in the previously terrorism affected areas of the North and the East.

Growth

That demonstrates our commitment to build a truly pluralistic and inclusive society, so all communities can reap the dividends of peace and economic growth. This is in consonance with President Rajapaksa’s ‘Mahinda Chintana’ policy, of bridging the urban-rural divide, and achieving a pro-poor growth, and growth with equity.

We were delighted that the CHOGM was held in Sri Lanka, and rightfully so, because many people don’t know that we were one of the 8 founder member Nations of the modern Commonwealth, if one goes back to the London Declaration of 1949; and in fact we achieved universal suffrage 17 years before Independence in 1931, and we had the world’s first female Prime Minister,

so we can also say a few things about gender parity and democracy to the world.

Confidence

Also, we have always subscribed to the twin pillars of democracy and development, and we subscribe to the principles of the Singapore Declaration 1971; the Harare Declaration of 1991; the Munyonyo Statement on Respect and Understanding, and the principles enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

The significance of hosting the CHOGM in Sri Lanka, was that it was a great index of confidence in Sri Lanka today, and it also enabled Sri Lanka to further strengthen bilateral relationships particularly with other Commonwealth countries and enhance South-South collaboration.

The delegates who visited said they were pleasantly surprised at the peace, and the positive peace, prevalent in Sri Lanka.

And also the beauty and transformation of Colombo, and many people expressed this when they were here and they continue to articulate this when I am back in London, and they all say it is so different from the very negative, anachronistic picture that is constantly being spread by those demagogues of division, who simply fan the flames of hatred.

Terrorism

They are well funded - this very small rump of the Diaspora - and I don’t demonise the Diaspora – the majority, over 95% are decent, educated, sensible people. It is only a very small group of people who used terrorism as a business, and it is they who are now out of a job. But they perpetuate it, because they still have access to that funding, and that funding is now being legitimised into other businesses. It is they who continue to spread this negative narrative, and continue to lobby even legislators, opinion leaders, and think-tanks,and that is quite a challenge to address.

National Security and Sri Lanka’s geo-strategic location I mentioned at the outset that our 2 greatest strengths were our people and our geo-strategic location because Sri Lanka lies at the nexus of the maritime routes between the East and the West,and that is historically why Sri Lanka is such a multi-ethnic, culturally diverse and heterogeneous community.

Trade security

Major. Gen. Perera outlined the concept of the land force doctrine that transforms a component of the military from security related duties to those of development and nation building. He outlined the complex interplay and the multiplicity of actors, domestic and international, in the post-terrorism environment.

The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world, and comprises 38 littoral states, 24 ocean territories and 17 landlocked countries, and 50% of the world’s containerised cargo and two thirds of the world’s Oil shipments, traverse the Indian Ocean Region.

So its sea lines of communication are critical globally for trade security and energy security.

The Indian Ocean is home to one of the most important sea lanes in the world, and overall more than 80% of the world’s seaborne trade passes through these Indian Ocean choke points, such as the Straits of Hormuz, Straits of Malacca, and the Sunda Straits.

Key role

Therefore, in a world of maritime geopolitics, Sri Lanka, having achieved peace, has assumed great strategic significance and can play a key role globally and within the Maritime Silk Route, particularly enhanced by the shift in economic power to Asia.

From a US perspective, after 9/11, and after the US invasion of Afghanistan and subsequently Iraq, its port of Diego Garcia has enormously increased the strategic significance of the Indian Ocean Region to the US. Even after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the region will still attract the attention of the US, to ensure the flow of energy supplies across the region’s Sea Lines of Communication and through its choke points.

Strategic significance

If one looks historically at Trincomalee, it is the third largest natural harbour in the world, and it was described by Nelson as the finest natural harbour in the world, and by Churchill as the most strategic.

Trincomalee housed the British seventh fleet during World War two, and was invaluable after they lost Singapore to the Japanese in 1942, and they used it to exercise some degree of control over their Empire in India. In addition, I am told, that in this age of nuclear weaponry and nuclear submarine-based missile systems, the depth of its inner harbour has assumed increased strategic significance.

In fact, the oldest frigate used by Admiral Nelson still in water today, albeit in a museum in Britain, is called HMS Trincomalee, and there is even an HMS Trincomalee fan club. If one looks at the Hambantota port today, it is located just 12 nautical

miles of the world’s busiest shipping lane, with over 100 ships passing Sri Lanka daily, and has the potential to make Sri Lanka one of the pre-eminent shipping hubs, and fulfill part of our five hub strategy.

Interplay

Air Vice Marshal Jayampathi also mentioned the aviation perspective, and that we are just 4 hours away from the Far East, and MRIA, Mattala will help to create the 5 Hub concept. In fact we are just 4 hours away from Singapore, KL, Bangkok, Delhi, Doha, and Dubai. That is the value of Sri Lanka.

In view of our geo-strategic location, our speakers on Day two also emphasised the importance of regional cooperation and regional integration, and having a collaborative maritime and aviation diplomacy, harnessing our shared maritime domain expertise.

We were reminded that “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean dominates Asia” and of the interplay between China, India and the USA, for primacy in the Indian Ocean. In this context, Sri Lanka’s geostrategic position is pivotal.

I feel it is the same geographical location, that attracted the interest of the colonisers several hundred years ago. When the Portuguese were trying to wrest control of the Spice routes from the Venetians and the Ottomans, they were the first to navigate the Cape of Good Hope,and they colonised us in 1505; they were in turn replaced by the might of the Dutch East India Company in 1656; and subsequently, when the British were fighting the French in the Napoleonic wars, they also took over the Dutch colonies and colonised us from 1815 to 1948.

Strife

I should also touch on the one of the factors, that people often don’t mention, that lead to conflict in several countries and that

is the 'divide and rule' policy that has always been carried out by colonisers.

Many people talk about recent factors in the last century, but I think rather than being preached to from abroad, we ourselves need to let people know that it is often the 'divide and rule' policy of Imperialist powers that sowed the seeds for a lot of the strife that is going on globally today.

Because what they did in the 'divide and rule' policy is that they heightened differences, they artificially compartmentalised people, and people actually lost their National identity, and subsequently when we moved to independence, and the transition was usually very swift, we inherited economies that were struggling post-colonisation, with substantial urban-rural economic divides, and we had that perennial search for a national identity, and that was compounded by the very nationalist assertion post-independence.

And it is the combination of all these factors together, namely the 'divide and rule' policy, the urban-rural economic divide post-colonisation, and the loss of an unifying National identity, that were ethnicised and politicised by successive generations, and those are some of the factors that have led to the issues that a lot of countries suffer from today.

Identity

The imperative therefore is to understand the context of the colonial legacy; to address the urban-rural economic divide which we are addressing; and to forge a common Sri Lankan National identity which we are embarked on, to unify all our people in the post-conflict era and transcend these differences.

If I could touch on a few of the points specifically mentioned by our international speakers.

Dr Patryk Kugiel, from Poland, gave an EU Perspective and outlined EU concerns on human rights and the asymmetrical trade relationship, and their declining EU aid.

He gave a few possible scenarios which were rather pessimistic, but Dr Kugiel also made some interesting points about a potential alternative strategy.

And I quote from what he said about the alternative strategy, which included the following:

He said, "Be Modest: European states can show more modesty and understanding in its assessment of Sri Lanka's civil war as its own experiences of interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq exposed to them to the many challenges of the counter-terrorism operations".

He said, "Be Consistent: The EU should be ready to address the accusations of double standards and hypocrisy in foreign relations and reassure its policy on Sri Lanka is not very different from its assessment of other conflicts".

He said, "Be Patient". Give us the time and the space. Are we not deserving of that? Particularly in comparison to peer countries we have done substantially better than the majority of those who have suffered a situation like this.

He said, "Be open: Europe needs to continue dialogue with Sri Lankan partners at every possible level."

He said, "Be Supportive. Offer more carrots and less sticks and support Sri Lankan-led and Sri Lankan-owned reconciliation processes."

He said, "Be Partners: Because we have the same aim of having a pluralistic and inclusive society with a sustainable peace."

Disappear

And I thought that was an interesting strategy because if people adopt that approach, particularly those who seek to internationalise what is a domestic issue, and seek to abrogate our territorial integrity and our sovereignty, I think if people actually use those comments, and put it into practice, then most of their concerns would disappear.

From the South African trauma came the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and we have a very comprehensive Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which was based on the TRC of South Africa. Our LLRC, which many people criticised before it was launched.

I used to get constant criticism. People said, "This is going to be edited; it will be biased; it won't be critical; it will be a whitewash."

It was not only released, but released in full and unedited. And it was a comprehensive, impartial, critical, report of over 380 pages. And a substantial part of the LLRC is presently being implemented.

Better

I know there is more to be implemented, but if you compare our reconciliation process and the LLRC process to many other countries which have had similar processes, we have actually done substantially better.

And I think it is so important when people seek to criticise, that they actually compare us to themselves and their processes, and also to peer countries.

The LLRC was based on the principle of restorative justice not punitive justice, where people have forgiveness, and that encourages them to discuss the trauma of conflict, and it actually helps to heal the wounds of conflict.

And we have the National Plan of Action for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations.

There was another excellent exposition of the challenges that many of the western countries are facing with the diaspora, by Ravinatha Aryasinghe, who articulated that even though terrorism may have been finished here, the international war still continues.

Propaganda war

I think it is so important that we address it with the same focus, and the same strategy, that you fought terrorism.

That is very important because the war that is being fought, and I've said it previously in an interview, I've said 'proxy propaganda war'- but I chose my words very carefully.

It is a war. I don't think it can be laughed off in terms of 'lack of communication' or 'lack of marketing'.

It is literally a war, because the funds used by the rump of the LTTE to procure arms are now being diverted to fight this propaganda war, and I think it is important that we understand the seriousness and gravity of that, and the resources, therefore, and strategy that needs to be put in to combat it, because it uses social media and other media, and an enormous network of international money laundering and financial transactions.

It is used, as I said earlier, to prey on opinion leaders and it influences people, particularly where there is a narrow margin in terms of votes, so it appeals to the domestic electoral compulsions of certain countries.

It is essentially down to votes and funds, which we need to be aware of, when we are unduly criticised from certain sectors.

I said initially that the strength of Sri Lanka is our people and our geo-strategic location.

The final point I'd like to make about our people, and also for the countries who are present here today, is that most of us have a tremendous diversity of our people, of ethnic backgrounds and religions, and rather than fearing them, I think we should all realise that this is the true wealth of our countries.

The wealth of our countries is the diversity of our people, and it is up to all of us, domestically and regionally, to leverage on that diversity.

But to do that, we have to respect each other with our differences, because I believe that it is when we respect each other's diversity, that we give each other dignity, and it is when we give each other dignity that we will ensure a durable and long lasting peace globally.

This is Asia's century, and we invite you all to join us in our endeavour of achieving Sri Lanka's renaissance.