INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL AND SECURITY SYSTEM, WHICH AFFECTED SRI LANKA’S NATIONAL SECURITY

7/29/2019 INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL AND SECURITY SYSTEM, WHICH AFFECTED SRI LANKAS NATIONAL SECURITY

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The stability of a country is deemed the paramount aspect of its existence. When the instability

comes to being the sovereignty of the country may start to decay. The national security is

supposed to take part in the venture of securing the stability of a country. Because the National

security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic,

diplomacy, power projection and political power. International security consists of the

measures taken by nations and international organizations, such as the United Nations, toensure mutual survival and safety. These measures include military action and diplomatic

agreements such as treaties and conventions. International and national security is invariably

linked. In fact, the international security is the national security or state security in the global

arena.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL AND SECURITY SYSTEM, WHICH AFFECTED

SRI LANKAS NATIONAL SECURITY

The international political and security system has been a very influential factor of a country if

the problem is internationalized. Those are reviewed on the paper of Global politics and

political economy/IDN written by Mr H.M.G.S Palihakkara. By going through the factdrawn in the paper, we can point a few realities why this internal problem was

internationalized. The Tamil expatriates or asylum seekers backed the internal situation to be

brought to international stage with reluctance of the government to conduct reasonable inquiry

on the issue. In the three-decade war, firstly India, our closest big neighbour in proximity

assisted the Tamil separatist by providing shelter, training, and financial assistance. Due to

intervene of India, the domestic problem was started to stage in international arena. When we

consider all the facts, India was the main contributor who brought this internal issue to

international level. Most of Sri Lankan Tamil people migrated to India, that created huge social

and economic problems for the local government of south India, and that was an important

catalyser to intervene the ethnic issue of Sri Lanka.

In late 80s we were able to observe a military intrusion in Jaffna Peninsula in The North Of

The Island by dropping food and other necessities by the Indian Air force, thus breaking the

blockade the Sri Lankan government had imposed there. Even in the period of 30s and 40s

Sinhala political leaders had a commotion on the issue of Tamil migrants who came workers in

plantation sector. Therefore, India longed for involving the ethnic conflict in order to bring

reciprocal action for the issue of Indian Tamil workers in Sri Lanka. When the ethnic problem

was raised up to international level local leaders attempted to solicit in foreign countries in

hope of acquiring a political gain. In the shrinking world, there is nothing to be inevitable,

nothing to hide in the information technology. Hence, any event that seems important spreads

out all over the world within a split of a second and it helped to increase the internationalconcern on the ethnic issue.

Renowned Indo-Sri Lanaka accord (ISLA), Indian Pease Keeping Force (IPKF) and the

thirteenth constitutional amendments were the offsprings of the influence of India. The dismal

failure of the IPKF operation and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi forced India to assume a

handsoff approach and to remain on the sidelines and that had changed everything about

their assumption over the L.T.T.E. That was a valuable strategical point that helped Sri Lanka


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to win the war. If India did not help Sri Lanka, it could have been impossible to win from the

war because India protected their land and ocean borders so that none of L.T.T.E cadres could

come to India within the war period, curbing favourable situation not within the state but also

outside the country. As the giant of Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Sri Lanaka cannot neglect the

power of India in terms of international security. Throughout the 1980s, external threats to the

nation's security were long term rather than immediate and tended to involve the rivalrybetween regional and world superpowers for influence over the Indian Ocean. The port of

Trincomalee, one of the best natural harbours in the world, has long been attractive to foreign

nations interested in Indian Ocean basis. India has expressed a determination to prevent either

the United States or the Russia or China from establishing a naval presence there, and the Indo-

Sri Lankan Accord helped confirm the Indian claim of regional leadership. Being the mid of

Indian ocean Sri Lanka has become a strategical key point for emerging super powers of the

world. The factor of India is the biggest key actor in the international security context of the

Sri Lanaka.

The other most influential factor of the international security is UN Security Council because

this has the authorization of giving legal binding directives under the mandate of chapter sevenof UN charter. There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding

permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and

10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. Its preliminary role and its main

activities are as follows.

Investigate any situation threatening international peace; Recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute; Call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt economic relations

as well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications, or to sever diplomatic relations;

Enforce its decisions militarily, or by any means necessary; Avoid conflict and maintain focus on cooperation

At the latter part of war, the issue of Sri Lanka was discussed for the first time since from its

independence. When the L.T.T.E exploiting the civilian Tamil people by throwing underage

and un-trained soldiers in the battle and did not let go the people who wanted cross over to

government lines, international bodies cautioned about the imminent blood bath. Tamil

diaspora staged huge campaign against Sri Lanka While threatening a mass suicide. This

triggered to bring up the issue of war between the government troops and L.T.T.E in to the

Security Council.

Any decree under the mandate of Security Council could have been a huge burden whilst war

was continuing. Because, any mandatory intervention would adversely affect the sovereignty

of the Sri Lankan community and issuing any decree may give possibilities for enemies to re-

arm, re-group and bring reinforcement. Even if opponent bodies wanted to define the internal

war as a threatening to international peace, with the skilful craft of diplomacy of Sri Lanaka


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and the multi-pronged actions managed to meet the principles and necessity of the Security

Council. Hence, no resolution or decree was passed against Sri Lanka.

The ideology of the imperialist/neo-colonialist west is another influential factor that affects

the international security of Sri Lanka. One major dictum of this critique of the West is the idea

that the Western powers continue to dominate the economic, cultural and intellectual life of

the people in the non-Western world. Particularly the European Union (EU), Canada and the

United States, have throughout Sri Lankas ethnic war emphasized the importance of a

negotiated settlement that would produce political reform package for power-sharing with the

Tamil minority. Those countries are attempting to meddle with ethnic issue by highlighting

human rights standard and its obligations notwithstanding the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

When Sri Lanka thinks deeply about the international security of country, the governance of

the country must not allow internal problems to go to the international arena and those

problems are addressed wisely and cautiously. If the governances failed to do so, it may create

fertile situation to outsiders. Most of them want to manipulate or destabilize the country. Up to

this point what Sri Lankan have experienced here were the outcomes of those failures.

The sovereignty and territorial integrity are vital concepts and found stones on which an

independent nation foreign policy and security policy are formulated for the stability of a

country. The concept of sovereignty is something that cannot merely be preached but must be

exercised. Sovereignty carries with it duties towards a countrys own citizens. Where there is

failure to discharge such duties, fertile ground is created for unwelcome intervention. The

reality why a country needed to adapt international security policies would be maneuvered to

the utmost achievement of sovereignty and territorial integrity, which may bring the stability to

the country in every manner.

NEIGHBOURHOOD IN PROXIMITY

As a multipolar super power is emerging into the world, each super power seekers showed

rivalry action to overcome one another directly or indirectly. Our closest neighbour India is

also acquiring the super power status in the region of Indian Ocean. Even if we like or dislike

we cannot alter where India locates. Therefore, we have to survive with the India while keeping

up good relationship while we secure the core values of our national security. Since the

beginning of the history, we cannot disregard that we had co-relationship with India culturally,

socially, religiously and anthropologically.

The initial insecurity perception toward India of the Sinhalese political class, who became the

rulers after the political independence of 1948, was shaped by both external and internaldimensions that were interestingly linked to India. Sri Lankas smallness as an island state with

a giant neighbour, India, in proximity seems to have created a specific psychology of insecurity

in the country. In order to address this security threat from India, Sri Lankas first Prime

Minister Senanayake relied on the outgoing colonial power and, a little before independence,

signed a defence agreement with Britain. This fear syndrome that motivated Sri Lankan

policymakers even in the 1970s to develop countervailing forces to balance the Indian threat by

building a Sri Lanka-China in addition to a Sri Lanka-Pakistan. The Sinhalese political


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leaders had developed an uneasy relationship with India in the 1930s and 1940s on the question

of the presence of a large population of Tamil plantation workers of recent south Indian origin

in Sri Lanka. Some nationalist termed that Sri Lanka was going to be as the Indian stat es fifth

column operating in Sri Lanka.

India initially played a significant role in this conflict as Sri Lankas dominant neighbour. In

the early 1980s, the government of Tamil Nadu and the central government under Indira

Gandhi had supported Tamil rebel groups by providing them with military assistance and

training, and this all on Indian territory (Dixit 2003: 55; dos Santos 2007: 54). Therefore, the

importance of role of India seemed multifarious. Because they greatly assisted Tamil militant

group come to the scenario. On July 29, 1987, secret negotiations between the Indian and Sri

Lankan governments led to the signing of the IndoSri Lanka Agreement (ISLA) and, shortly

thereafter, India deployed its Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the North and the East of

the island with the task of supervising the ceasefire and disarming the LTTE. Implementation

of ISLA was not successful because that was not done through proper studying the factors,

which were involved in the ethnic issue. The ISLA ignited resurrection of JVP insurgencies

then the country became a torch with both sides on fire. The debacle of IPKF and theassassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 pinched India to think their limitations of the role

in the region and they change their policy to conflict management and to neutral stance. They

formulated the policy nonintervention and nonreciprocity in relations with regional

neighbours just a few years later

It has long been assumed that if any country could encourage Sri Lanka to seek a sustainable

political settlement to its ethnic conflicts it would be India. Certainly, no lasting settlement is

possible without Indian acceptance. As the traditional regional hegemon, India has been willing

to impose its will on its neighbours, or to derail policies it opposes. With Indias rise as a

global economic super power and its growing ambition to play an influential role

internationally, many analysts and Western diplomats, continue to hope that India can help

influence Sri Lankas post-war policies.

POST CONFLICT NATION BUILDING

Defence and security are of the most vital and sensitive issues in the world. In present day

context, several conflicts can be seen in various parts of the world. Wars and conflicts are

almost dangerous, as those do not produce positive results other than devastation and the

human suffering. It was clearly visible during the first and second world wars and even in the

present context. Military means is not always the only solution for conflicts resolutions andpolitical mediation and solution should be included in the process in order to have sustainable

peace in the country. It also has identified wars or conflicts in one part of the world could have

adverse effects for the other parts of the world as consequences of those could be resulted in

failure states including poverty, socio economic problems, violation of human rights, drug

trafficking, terrorism, refugees or IDP populations and migrants and asylum seekers.

Therefore, prominent international actors like the EU, the UN and US including donor agencies

have identified threats of conflicts and wars including consequences of them for their region


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and taking every possible steps to mediate with an intention to resolve problems aimed at

establishing democratic governance and preventing future conflicts. It is worldwide paradigm

that the prevention is more advisable than the cure.

In Post conflict situations, it is necessary to pay more attention on rebuilding socio economic

states including capacity building of democratic institutions, enhance and strengthen civil

administration, enhance democratic governance while conducting confidence building and

stabilisation measures in order to establish democracy and to restore the rules and law.

Destructions, which have been manifested, should be rehabilitated and reconstructed in order to

regain economic, social developments. Therefore, this is an urgent issue; this should be

addressed speedily, and urgently

Post conflict initiatives should be able to strengthen the existing government capabilities

including, obtaining the lead in the process while the international community and other actors

provide supportive roles as this would help governments to take the lead in the process of

rebuilding the nation and support their affected communities. Therefore, the post conflict phase

is very vital as stability of the state would depend on effectiveness of initiatives and theapproaches adopt during the process. It is also, evident that, role models of post conflict

initiatives and approaches are not available, it really depends on the nature of the problem in a

particular country, and to what extent devastation has affected the democratic governance.

Effective post conflict rehabilitation approaches may be a great advantage to prevent future

wars and to establish the rule of law including respect for human rights aimed at establishing

democratic governance.

As initiatives and approaches in post conflict, rehabilitation it is essential to Building effective

and efficient democratic institutions. After insurgencies in 1983, G.O.S.L created special

organization called R.E.P.P.I.A (rehabilitation of persons, properties, industries, Authority) in

order to solve the problem of rehabilitation and reconstruction. Later on, another organ wasestablished for rehabilitation and reconstruction called R.R.A.N (resettlement and rehabilitation

authority) for working in five districts in Northern Province.

It has been controversial what happened in the war between government troops and the

L.T.T.E at the last stage. So many nations and international bodies asked the government to

investigate in to human right violations, accountability, the question of compliance with

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and so-called war crimes. This is the point, which can

be argued in such a way that can tarnish reputation of a country and legitimate the presence of

external body to conduct third-party investigation. If the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL)

failed in conducting impartial investigation, it may be presumed that G.O.S.L as democratic

government, intentionally degrading the rule of law and encouraging those violations or so-

called war crimes. For addressing, those issues came up at the end of war government

establishedLessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (L.L.R.C)

L.L.R.C investigated for a considerable period and hand over its report to the Parliament. The

international community is vigilant on what would be the response of G.O.S.L.


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It may look as if economics and politics are different realms, without much to do with each

other. Nevertheless, the wrong political policies can ruin an economy. If Sri Lankas economy

is to be put back on track, demilitarisation, human rights and democracy are essential.

References

National security. (2011, November 27). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 07:21, January

1, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_security&oldid=462673236

India and Sri Lanka after the LTTE. International crisis group Asia Report.(2011, June 23),

Destradi, Sandra. ( 2010, December)India and the Civil War in Sri Lanka: On the Failures of Regional

Conflict Management in SouthAsia, GIGA Working Papers.

Uyangoda,Jayadeva and Bastian,Sunil.(2008), Sri Lanaka country Study; State Responsiveness to Public

Security Needs:The Politics of Security Decision-Making, Kings College London.

Prasad,Chamil.(2010),Effective Post conflict rehabilitation to prevent future conflicts in order

to consolidate democracy through sustainable peace initiatives.www.liberalpapers.com.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL AND SECURITY SYSTEM, WHICH AFFECTED SRI LANKA’S NATIONAL SECURITY

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