http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/22/fea01.asp

Sri Lanka: an unsung model for post- conflict security

such as intelligence and counter-terrorism, that peace and security has
managed to prevail. Although the military defeat of the LTTE eradicated that
organizations’ capacity as a large scale force it did not entirely remove their
ability to continue to engage in acts of terror either from a reactivation of
its dormant cells in Sri Lanka or orchestrated through its operations overseas,
Simon Harris
Why hasn’t Sri Lanka started to demobilise its massive
military machine or decreased the size of its huge defence budget? After the
defeat of the LTTE, three years without a single terrorist incident, followed by
the recent rapidly rising cost of living, a devalued rupee and growing signs of
popular protest, these are questions that are on the mind of many Sri Lankans
and international observers alike.
Indeed, an article published in The Economist on February 11th this year
states that the size of Sri Lanka’s military spending at a fifth of the national
budget 'is an alarming share for a country now at peace' and goes on to
criticise the expanding business role of the Armed Forces in the agriculture,
construction and tourism sectors. However, these concerns are missing two
pivotal points. Firstly, it is exactly because Sri Lanka’s military has remained
fully funded, intact and even expanded in crucial areas such as intelligence and
counter-terrorism, that peace and security has managed to prevail. Although the
military defeat of the LTTE eradicated that organizations’ capacity as a large
scale force it did not entirely remove their ability to continue to engage in
acts of terror either from a reactivation of its dormant cells in Sri Lanka or
orchestrated through its operations overseas.
Peace and national security
Besides the LTTE, other forms of terrorism are on the rise both globally and
domestically which pose a threat to Sri Lanka. It is only because of the
increased levels of surveillance, intelligence gathering and of course a modicum
of good fortune that this country hasn’t yet witnessed the return of terrorism
in some form or other. Sri Lanka’s security sector leaders know fully well that
inevitably one day something will happen and have had the foresight to retain a
capacity to both reduce the risk and to deal effectively with its impact when it
eventually does occur.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Sri Lanka’s government and military
commanders have keenly understood that the risks of rapid and contrived
demobilisation following decades of protracted conflict on multiple fronts - the
LTTE and two JVP uprisings - are far more dangerous for the preservation of
peace and national security than retaining the former wartime strength of its
Armed Forces.
The risks of rapid demobilisation are huge but Sri Lanka has learned from the
mistakes of many other countries around the world whose post-conflict peace has
been eroded by the ill-timed and unplanned shedding of its Armed Forces. By
resisting international pressure to down-size its military, Sri Lanka has
avoided the potential threat of having tens of thousands of weapons-trained and
battled-hardened troops suddenly finding themselves being reintegrated into the
hum-drum routine of civilian life where the purchasing power of their military
pensions would diminish with inflation.
Where many post-conflict countries have struggled to find viable alternatives
to reducing the size of their militaries Sri Lanka has strategically applied the
skills base and discipline of its Armed Forces to civilian type activities
without the need for demobilisation.
By engaging in the construction of roads, hotels, restaurants and golf
courses, running transport facilities or growing and selling agricultural
produce, Sri Lanka’s military are being usefully employed in essential
reconstruction and development work.
New skills
They are learning new skills and are engaging with civilian actors in new
ways which are helping the country prosper and which will ultimately help them
reintegrate into civilian life when they are eventually demobilised or retired
from service.
Naively viewed as a simple matter of budgetary economics a few years after
the end of a war, the size of Sri Lanka’s military machine could easily be
mistaken as an unnecessary folly. However taken from a perspective of preserving
national security during a period of continued uncertainty, contributing to the
country’s development needs and avoiding the profoundly destabilising risks of
demobilisation, Sri Lanka’s approach may well serve one day as a replicable
model for post-conflict security and reconstruction.
(The writer is an international humanitarian, peace and development sector
consultant based in Sri Lanka and a Visiting Fellow at the Feinstein
International Centre, Tufts University, USA)