Situation Report

New rule triggers major shake-up in the army

Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, who assumed office as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), in addition to his duties as Commander of the Navy, inspects a tri services guard of honour last Wednesday.

Once again efforts by Norwegian facilitators to kick start the peace process have become futile. Special Advisor Erik Solheim returned to Oslo last Friday leaving behind the current stalemate. Talks he and colleague, Ambassador Hans Brattskar, held both in Kilinochchi and Colombo has only led to protagonists re-defining their already entrenched positions.

S.P. Tamilselvan, leader of the Political Wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), accuses the polity in the south of not being flexible. He says meaningful and effective measures to accommodate power sharing (through the ISGA proposals) and resolve the Tamil national problem were not in place. He terms President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's proposal for a National Advisory Council on Peace as "irrelevant" and declares "the Tamil people reject this concept."

On the question of political assassinations, the all important issue that is distancing them by the day from the UPFA Government, he says paramilitary groups should be disarmed. This is in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).

On the other hand, President Kumaratunga, who has told her Cabinet colleagues she would speak with "one voice" on the peace process, set out her Government's position. Despite the flexibility demonstrated by the Government, she says, the LTTE was delaying the resumption of negotiations. Expressing deep concern over ceasefire violations by Tiger guerrillas, she declares her Government is committed to strict adherence of the CFA and early resumption of talks.

Even if the two sides have agreed to disagree on matters relating to the peace process, there was no doubt in the minds of the Norwegian facilitators that protecting the ongoing ceasefire forms the central question now. If tit for tat killings have endangered the CFA in the past, there are increasing fears it would continue. Allowing such a situation to develop, Mr. Solheim warned, would be dangerous to the peace process.

If this week's round of facilitation efforts by the Norwegians was not marred by violent incidents, fears of a major Tiger guerrilla crack down on renegade Karuna cadres in the Batticaloa-Ampara districts are mounting.

State intelligence agencies warn of a major influx of Wanni cadres into the East. They have chosen an easy way out to circumvent provisions of the CFA that require approval from the Government to move cadres in groups. Such movements are carried out with escorts from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

Tiger guerrillas in ones and twos have been crossing the Army check-point at Omanthai and arriving in Vavuniya. From there, they have been travelling together in large groups by buses. This week, a Mitsubishi Rosa coach loaded with Tiger cadres was stopped at a check-point in the Batticaloa district. They produced their identity papers and said they were travelling from Vavuniya to Valachenai They were allowed to go.

Three separate detections were made at the Army checkpoint at Omanthai yesterday. Tiger cadres entering controlled areas from the Wanni were found in possession of "Eelam Police" uniforms. They had claimed they visited Wanni for training and were returning to the East.

The man who is supervising these fresh preparations is Somasekeran Sivanandan alias Banu, head of LTTE's Heavy Weapons Unit. A native of Ariyalai in Jaffna, he has led many a confrontation with security forces deployed in the east. He has taken over from Ramesh who together with colleagues were in Wanni recently for talks with the leadership. The change came after Ramesh was considered a weak leader for being reportedly soft on members of the Karuna faction.

Ramesh has again been summoned to Wanni by the LTTE leadership. He arrived at the Army checkpoint at Omanthai from Batticaloa escorted by an SLMM official. He crossed the area and was in turn escorted by another SLMM official based in Kilinochchi and LTTE cadres yesterday.

It is unlikely Banu will remain in Batticaloa for a longer period giving up his substantive post in the Wanni. In May, this year, Banu was moved to Sampur area in the Trincomalee district by the Wanni leadership. He had been responsible for strengthening guerrilla fortifications there. With the steady influx of cadres into the East, intelligence sources say there have been reports of movement of weapons by sea. This is said to be a precursor to flushing out pro Karuna cadres and thus regaining full military control in the district.

If these new developments in the east are causing concerns for the defence establishment, Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, who took over as Chief of Defence Staff on Wednesday is to initiate measures to strengthen the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH). This unified command of the security forces and the police is located inside the Army Headquarters. One of his primary tasks will be to evolve measures to ensure the security forces and the police are in a higher level of preparedness to meet any threats to national security.

In undertaking this task he would have to be mindful of a series of impending changes in top slots in the security forces. This follows a policy decision made by President Kumaratunga as Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. She has formally endorsed a recommendation by a six member Committee that officers in the rank of Major General (and equivalent rank of Rear Admiral in the Navy and Air Vice Marshal in the Air Force) should not be given a "third extension under any circumstances."

The Committee examined and reported on a scheme for granting of extensions to officers of the armed forces. It was headed by G.P. Abeykeerthi, Additional Secretary, Office of the Cabinet of Ministers as Chairman. The other members were: B.G. Karunaratne, Director General of Establishments, Sunil Sirisena, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Major General Jayantha Ranaweera (he represented the Army though he is now retired and serves as Military Liaison Officer in the MoD), Commodore T.S.G. Samarasinghe, Navy and Air Vice Marshal R. Arunthavanathan, Sri Lanka Air Force.

This Committee has said that it does not recommend granting of extensions beyond the maximum period of time specified for each rank as a matter of policy. However, it is of the view that there may be instances where granting of extensions would be necessary when the expertise and experience of a particular officer is extremely essential for smooth functioning of the organisation.

Therefore, the Committee has recommended the granting of one (1) extension beyond the maximum period to such an officer in a rank equivalent to Brigadier and above. Their report adds: "This should not be commonly applicable to all in such ranks. Second extension for a further period of one year should only be considered in respect of officers of the rank of Major General and above.

"However, such instances should be confined to exceptional circumstances where services of such an officer are indispensable due to essential rare technical expertise or when considered for the position of a Service Commander. A third extension should not be granted under any circumstances."

W.J.S. Karunaratne, Secretary to the President, has told armed forces commanders that President Kumaratunga has approved the six page report of the Committee. Therefore, the service chiefs are now required to adhere to the recommendations laid down.

The immediate impact of the decision not to grant a third extension will be in the Army. There will be many vacancies in the hierarchy by early next year. The number two, Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Chula Seneviratne, will complete his third year of extension in December this year. By then he will be 55 years. He is due to retire thereafter and is being strongly tipped to take up the post of Director of the Directorate of Foreign Intelligence (DFI). Maj. Gen. Seneviratne has considerable experience in intelligence work having served stints as Director of Military Intelligence.

Due to succeed him in December as Chief of Staff Major General Sarath Fonseka, who is currently Deputy. He is also on a third year extension that expires in April, next year.

If he is to continue in office, President Kumaratunga's ruling would have to be changed. The only other alternative is his elevation to the post of Commander of the Army, a move that is extremely unlikely. This is because Army Commander Lt. Gen. Kottegoda who assumed office on July 1, this year, would have completed only nine months by then.

The fourth in line, Major General Susil Chandrapala, currently Commandant of the Volunteer Force, is on his second year of extension that ends in March, next year. With the no third extension rule, he will be compelled to retire even before he reaches 55 years on October 29, next year.

So will be the fifth in line Major General Nanda Mallawaratchchi, now Security Forces Commander, East, whose second year of extension ends in March, next year. With no third extension, his retirement will also be ahead of his 55th birthday on August 3, 2006. The sixth in line, Major General Sisira Wijesuriya, now Director General of General Staff (DGGS) is due to retire in February upon reaching 55 years.

In other words, the new rule will see the exit of six top most men in the Army after the Commander by early next year. In such an event, the senior most officer eligible for the number two slot, the Chief of Staff, will be Maj. Gen. Parami Kulatunga currently security forces commander (Wanni). He is now the seventh in line. The eighth, Maj. Gen. K.B. Egodawala, Military Secretary retires next month upon reaching 55 years.

Whilst the Tiger guerrillas are girding up their loins for another crack down on the Karuna faction, the new CDS, Vice Admiral Sandagiri, no doubt has an unenviable task. In making efforts to gear the military machine to deal with contingencies he will have to plan to do without some senior officers. That is at a time when the military balance (since the ceasefire) continues to tilt heavily in favour of Tiger guerrillas.

The facts speak for themselves
Co. A.K.S. (Sumedha) Perera , Military Spokesman, has responded to some references made in these columns last week. He writes: "Your kind attention is drawn to The Sunday Times Situation Report (12 September 2004) in which a little more than the last column had been set apart by the writer to comment on the non-reference of "Army Commandos in the Press Release" (sic) "self appointed media pundits at Army Headquarters," "more harm done to organisation due to sheer ignorance and lack of professionalism" and the "expertise to issue blunt denials by Operational Headquarters of the Army."

"2 Firstly, it is regrettable to note that the writer has failed to grasp the meaning of "service personnel" as stated in the said Press Release issued by the Operational Headquarters on Friday (10) evening. When referred as "service personnel," it covers troops of all three armed forces except the Police, hence there does not arise any need to mention about the Army commandos singularly or in particular.

"3. Your weekend comments further try to confound the readers that the Army's "self-appointed media pundits do more harm to the organization due to ignorance and lack of professionalism" since they issue "blunt denials". "The office of the Military Spokesman/ Directorate of Media after its establishment many years ago has been held to-date by well-experienced Senior Officers of the Army, appointed by the Commander of the Army/Chief of Defence Staff with the concurrence of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Whether such capacities are "self-appointed" or "damaging" or lack professionalism as alleged by the writer are therefore self-explanatory.

"4. As you may understand, the Amy's Media too as a responsible professional outfit is not meant for marketing stories, nor does it rush to produce sensational stories that may endanger peace overtures being undertaken by governments in power. It is not our mandate anyway to write on preconceived ideas, hearsays, unconfirmed details and information or give our own conclusions.

"5. The referred Press Release in your comment was necessitated at the behest of the MOD and the Commander of the Army after some pro-LTTE media reports websites began to accuse the Army on Pullumalai attack and pasted stories to that effect. Publication of the true account regarding any such issue relevant to the Army is a legitimate right hitherto practiced by the Army for so many years whether it would in your writer's eyes, appear "blunt" or otherwise. That was what the Press Release issued by the Army exactly did.

"6. This columnist's self-seeking assumptions, published earlier too as regards absence of "competent personnel conversant with media relations" in the Army need careful consideration once again to find out what the writer actually and honestly wanted to convey once it is read between the lines.

"7. In fairness to the Army and to your intelligent readership, you are kindly requested to carry this clarification too in the same page in your next issue. Your cooperation in this regard is highly appreciated."
Iqbal Athas adds:
As Col. Perera admits, The Sunday Times readership is intelligent enough to understand and appreciate the references made. The facts speak for themselves. Under normal circumstances, no further explanation at all would be necessary for it is clear he is piqued, and even embarrassed, from the exposures.

However, both in the national interest and in fairness to the Army, one cannot allow his so called clarification, though he claims to be a "well experienced Senior Officer", to go unchallenged. Not even when Col. Perera insists he was appointed by "the Commander of the Army, Chief of Defence Staff with the concurrence of the Ministry of Defence." These do not make him beyond criticism or beyond comment.

He expresses regret that the writer had "failed to grasp the meaning of 'service personnel' and imparts his wisdom that "it covers troops of all three armed forces except the Police." Therefore, he concludes "there does not arise any need to mention about the Army commandos singularly or in particular."

He has obviously missed the point, but I am not surprised. The denial he issued to the media, as I said in these columns, came from "Troops of the Special Task Force and the Police personnel on duty in the closest proximity….. two kilometres west of Pullumalai." Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would ask why an Army officer who claims he is "senior, well experienced," a spokesman for the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, has to lean on the STF and the Police to say Army commandos were not involved and that, only by innuendo. Even then, he relies on information from those who were unaware until after the event had occurred.

It would have been a lot more credible, a lot more acceptable and more believable if that was said by the Commander of the Army. His office is less than 200 metres from Col. Perera's Directorate. Instead, he chooses "Troops of the Special Task Force and Police personnel….two kilometres from the scene" that is a couple of hundred kilometres away from Colombo.

And now, he complains the "weekend comments further try to confound the readers." Must anything more be said about professional incompetence? Here is a case where what is arguably the most elite unit in the Army, the commandos, is at the centre of a serious accusation - that they murdered eight members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Tiger guerrillas are making this allegation. It comes when they are talking peace with the Government during a ceasefire.

And the Military Spokesman tries to absolve them by making the entire world believe it is not so. Why? Because the STF and the Police have said so. He thinks Army commandos are not worthy of mention. The mere reference to "service personnel" would suffice. No one dare contest or comment over anything Col Perera says, be it right or wrong.

Then his preconceived notions prevail. If anyone at the MoD, or even the Commander of the Army had, as Col. Perera tries to imply, asked him to make reference only to "service personnel" and not to Army commandos, why are they shying away? Come on Col. Perera. Stand up and defend your men like a "senior, experienced" officer and a gentleman rather than sheepishly shield yourself under cover of what the Police have to say.

I will not get involved with Col. Perera on debates about marketing stories or even commodities, be it automobiles or for that matter, forged land transactions. But some comments on his reference to "sensational stories" endangering peace and his right to "tell the truth" require elucidation. I am compelled to be brief for reasons of space.

The publication he refers to, again without the courage to say so, is The Sunday Times (Situation Report - July 11). I reported how a Police team swooped on the Bodhirukkaramaya Temple in Diyabubyla, Hingurakgoda. They arrested 14 members of the renegade Karuna faction of the LTTE. They were produced before the Polonnaruwa Magistrate and extended on bail. Police said they could not link the suspects to the detection of the weapons. Otherwise the youth would have been remanded since possession of illegal weapons is an offence for which bail is not allowed.

But the Army website hosted by Col. Perera's directorate claimed the Tamil youth were arrested with weapons. This website could be accessed from any part of the world. Hence, a whole world was told a different story. On that occasion, did Col. Perera, who now chooses to rely only on the Police, disbelieve their version earlier? Was it not his responsibility, as an "experienced senior officer" to verify the facts, the truth?

In that report I also said "It is well known that the Media Unit at Army Headquarters is not manned by competent personnel conversant with media relations or are in touch with simple day to day developments."

What Col. Perera has failed to mention in his so called clarification is how huffed and puffed he was after this report. He then walked into the room of Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, with a draft of a letter to The Sunday Times only to be ordered not to proceed with it. Quite clearly, the Army Commander did so for good reasons then.

Until yesterday he was away in Pakistan and his saner, and wiser counsel was obviously not available to Col. Perera. I have learnt that neither Lt. Gen. Kottegoda nor Major General Chula Seneviratne, who acted as Commander of the Army until yesterday, approved the text of Col. Perera's letter to The Sunday Times. I spoke to both, Maj. Gen. Seneviratne on Friday and Lt. Gen. Kottegoda yesterday. They said so to me.

Why he did not consult the acting Commander and whether he sought approval from any other superior officer is not clear. This is not all. Col. Perera sent an official report to Jayantha Dhanapala, Director General, Secretariat Co-ordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) under his own name dated July 6, 2004. It was headlined "FOURTEEN TAMIL YOUTH WITH WEAPONS ARRESTED" and listed the weapons. This was when the Police said they had no weapons.

Now, does this not endanger peace? The Police say the youth did not have weapons and the Courts give them bail. Col. Perera tells the whole world and the Peace Secretariat that is involved in the peace process that they possessed weapons. Was this not a case of turning truth into fiction, a correct story a fake or sensational one? Through this act did he not demonstrate to the whole world that the official position he took up would have endangered peace?

It only helped the LTTE to say the youth were with weapons and make accusations against the UPFA Government. They charged whilst their cadres had been remanded for possessing cartridges their rivals had been given preferential treatment. This surely cannot be claimed as a "legitimate right" for Col. Perera. It places national interests and even national security in jeopardy. It also puts the Army in very bad light.

Yet, neither the Army nor the Ministry of Defence thought it fit to clarify the factual position leave alone initiating action against those responsible. Accountability seems a thing of the past. In view of these facts, I would once again repeat my assertion that media pundits of the OP HQ who masquerade as experts do more harm to their organisation due to sheer ignorance and lack of professionalism. As is more clear now, their expertise is not only restricted to issuing blunt denials. It extends beyond to being blunter than that.

Some of those who once held a gun are not always familiar with a pen. So they want to be blunt when they say they can do no wrong but right, when they insist they are beyond criticism, beyond comment. No matter how damaging it would be to national interest and the Army itself. All because they are appointed by the bureaucracy. Such are pocket Hitlers made of.

If saying the truth is "self seeking assumption" as you call it, so be it Col. Perera. It is not my mandate to work on your agenda of "preconceived notions."

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