By
Dharisha Bastians

A crisis, precipitated by shadowy forces, may in fact have hastened the reshuffle in the military establishment this past week, and the appointment of the new Army Commander.

The new Government has been aware for several weeks now that sections of the military remain fiercely loyal to former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

These sections grew accustomed over nine years of Rajapaksa rule to a Government policy of viewing every problem through the lens of security. Militarisation and the dominance of the security paradigm in all aspects of the Rajapaksa State has in a sense changed perspectives within the military establishment about the primacy of democratic rule.

This is a problem the new Government encountered early on. The early gaffe by newly appointed Defence Secretary Basnayake, who sought to justify irregular financial activity by his predecessor, was an indication of the seriousness of the problem.

Within the security establishment, the influence of the previous powerful regime runs deep. Civil servants had learned to obey the dictates of military, even though they were technically higher in the command chain.

In democratic societies, civilians both political and bureaucratic, take precedence over military high command. But in Rajapaksa Sri Lanka the country’s most powerful civil servant, was in fact a fundamentally military man.

As these lines blurred, as the security state grew immense in structure and size, the civil administration was weakened and its confidence was seriously eroded.

These were the problems within the security apparatus that President Sirisena, as Minister of Defence and Ruwan Wijewardene, his State Minister for the subject, inherited, when they took office in January.

An expose last week by our sister publication, The Sunday Times, revealed the extent of the concern when it said the Government had been warned about an assassination plot against President Sirisena during the Independence Day ceremony earlier this month.

Needless to say, the question of whom to trust within the security establishment became a major issue for the new Government.

The dilemma was compounded by the new administration’s decision to actively discourage the creation of a paranoid state, by slashing security contingents and escorts for Ministers and opening up former high security zones in the capital.

Reports that certain military officials were training junior officers to create the illusion of problems in the Northern Province – presumably under shadow orders – may have hastened the decision-making with regard to the military.

The Government took the most cautious course. There were no summary removals or swift shuffles that could be perceived as reprisals or witch-hunts.

Chief of Defence Staff, Jagath Jayasuriya, under whose hand dubious standby orders were signed on 24 December 2014, and troop movements were allegedly made two days ahead of the presidential election, remains in place.

While the military dismissed the orders as ‘routine’ at election time, a position Jayasuriya has repeatedly noted in private, nevertheless they perturbed the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya enough to mention that he was investigating the complaint at a press briefing on the eve of the election.

Deshapriya said that no troops could be mobilised without the express knowledge of the Elections Commissioner and the IGP, and he said he was in the dark regarding the movement.

In late January, Jayasuriya was to pay a call on the Prime Minister and other senior members of the Government, to deny his ‘involvement’ in the ‘coup story’ of election night last month. Wickremesinghe is reported to have played the issue down during the meeting.

But with questions persisting as to why Jayasuriya continues to be CDS, given his intense loyalties to the former regime (Jayasuriya was appointed Army Commander, after the Rajapaksa regime began to suspect that Sarath Fonseka was wielding too much control over the military after the war ended in 2009), it remains unclear whether his retention is part of the Government’s strategy to ensure they do not rock the boat and provoke a potentially devastating response from the security establishment.

Insiders say there remains a degree of tension and suspicion between the new Government and the security establishment. This was evidenced by an incident a few weeks after the election, political observers say.

It was an open election promise of this Government that they would return land to former owners in the formerly embattled regions of the North and East.

There were two key phrases they kept using on the campaign trail. The campaign leaders for the Opposition said the army was building “swimming pools” and “golf courses” on private lands.

But on 29 January, former Army Chief now General Daya Ratnayake, travelled to Jaffna to ceremonially open a swimming pool inside the army-run Thalsevana resort. He was hosted by Maj. Gen. Jagath Alwis, who had controversially been appointed Security Forces Commander of the Northern Province by the previous regime just ahead of the presidential election.

The question of whether the Army Commander, who the new Government was treating with kid gloves following his alleged refusal to participate in the attempt to hold power by force on election night, had engaged in an act of defiance or whether it was a mere coincidence remains a question.

But finally last week, Army Commander Ratnayake retired without extension and was promoted to the rank of General.

The Government is aware however, that parts of the military could still be uneasy with the new setup and any seeming erosion of its strength or capacity, especially in response to TNA demands, would be viewed with significant hostility.

Naturally, this puts the new administration in a supremely awkward position, as it attempts to balance security concerns with pledges made to promote reconciliation with the Tamil people during the election.

Courtesy:Daily FT