The United
States is poised to deepen ties with Sri Lanka’s
military. Such an initiative would likely include increased military
cooperation between the two countries, training programs and possibly an uptick
in military assistance heading to the war-torn island nation. While seemingly
good intentions may be underpinning this policy shift, the Obama administration
would be making a big mistake by moving in this direction. Accordingly,
Washington should urgently reconsider its current approach.
The USS New Orleans, a U.S. Navy ship, just visited Sri Lanka.
That’s the second ship to the country in the past few months. “The United
States looks forward to working with the Sri Lanka Navy as a key force for
maritime security and stability,” U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives
Atul Keshap said in a recent press release. Mr. Keshap had more to
say on July 27 in Colombo, the capital.
Even though the precise steps for deeper military cooperation remain
unclear, this looks like a profoundly disappointing development. After all, Sri
Lanka’s military, and we’re not
just talking about the army, is in desperate need of reform. The
country’s military has been plagued by allegations
of international human-rights and humanitarian law violations,
including war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed during the
end of country’s civil war. No one has been held accountable to date. Due to
human-rights concerns, the United States has maintained a limited military
relationship with Sri Lanka for many years. Direct American military assistance
ended in 2007, but the
Chinese stepped in with alacrity.
Unfortunately, there have also been ongoing reports of torture and
sexual violence, among other human-rights violations, committed by military
personnel more recently. Nonetheless, in spite of all these credible
allegations, Sri Lanka’s new government has given no genuine indication that
it’s really thinking of reforming its military. To make matters worse, these
transgressions occur with near total impunity, a situation that encourages more
human-rights violations. Perpetrators simply do not believe that they will be
held accountable.
Colombo has also been prevaricating on the controversial, yet hugely
significant, issue of wartime accountability. Here, it’s helpful to keep in
mind that Sri Lanka’s military is almost exclusively Sinhalese, yet most of the
people killed during the war’s tragic finish were Tamil civilians. On the one
hand, the coalition government has ostensibly committed to a transitional
justice process that would include a truth commission and an accountability
mechanism. On the other hand, the government still isn’t even explaining the
(controversial) issues pertaining to transitional justice to its largely ethnic
Sinhalese voting base. There are legitimate concerns that the government is not
serious about transitional justice and that the ostensible commitment to this
agenda is merely a way to placate the international community.
Instead of moving in the right direction vis-à-vis military reform or
some semblance of justice for past atrocities, high-level military officials
(who almost certainly have blood on their hands) have recently
been promoted. For example, Sarath Fonseka is now a cabinet member.
Mr. Fonseka is an alleged war criminal; he played a key role in the military
defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009, ending a civil war that lasted
nearly three decades.
More broadly, Colombo has yet to begin a process of demilitarization.
Instead, high levels of militarization across the country’s Tamil-majority Northern
and Eastern Provinces have persisted. The military has its hands in a diverse
array of civilian affairs, something that has clear and
extremely negative effects on the civilian population.
Admittedly, military ties are just one part of bilateral engagement, and
the Obama administration has been keen to reset a relationship that soured
under the increasingly authoritarian Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country’s previous
president, who ruled from 2005 until early 2015.
Washington is right to want Sri Lanka’s military to become more
professional, although that’s going to be a long, slow process. Enhanced military
cooperation between the two countries at this time would almost certainly
ossify Sri Lanka’s intransigent attitude towards a genuine process of military
reform and accountability that’s long overdue.
If the Obama administration really does want to help foster lasting
changes, it should hold off on deepening military ties. And, before even
beginning such a process, Colombo should take concrete steps to show its
serious about comprehensive security sector reform.
To conclude, Sri Lanka’s search for truth and justice—especially for
war-weary Tamils—looks set to become even more complicated. This unfortunate
reality deserves to be recognized, especially within Washington’s corridors of
power. After all, it’s not too late for the Obama administration to reconsider
what appears to be a major unforced error.
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