31 May 2011 05:44 am
By Supun Dias
Sri Lanka Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya encouraged countries facing terrorism challenges to face it head on and said Sri Lanka experience can be used to counter them.
Making the opening address on ‘Defeating Terrorism, Sri Lanka Experience,’ organized by the Sri Lankan Army to share its experience in eradicating the LTTE, the Sri Lanka Army Chief said that certain alliances are fighting against terrorism in parts of the world.
Meanwhile The Hindu reported Army Commander as saying “Victory came with many sacrifices… [this is a] saga to be shared with the world. A saga of epic political resolve… National security is no longer confined to the borders as we see in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya”.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa speaking at the seminar said that the President went out of the way to keep New Delhi briefed about all new developments taking place in Sri Lanka during the time of the war.
He said this dialogue ensured that whenever any sensitive issues arose it was resolved immediately.
Mr. Rajapaksa also said that in 1987, the Vadamarachchi Operations had pushed the LTTE to the brink of defeat but the operations could not be sustained because the Indian Government intervened.
“The primary problem in 1987 was that the relationship between the two countries had not been managed very effectively”, he noted.
From the time of his election, he said, President Rajapaksa went out of his way to keep New Delhi as he understood that while other countries could mount pressure on Sri Lanka through diplomatic channels or economic means, only India could influence the military campaign.
External Affairs Minister professor G.L Peiris also speaking at the event said that the International legal system has to be revamped in the context of global changes as the prevailing law deals with conflicts between two countries but whereas presently, conflicts arise within a country between the government and a non state actor.
He said that the role of the armed forces did not end after defeating terrorism. “The counter terrorist activities have to be continued”, he said.
“When thousands of civilians were trapped in the LTTE controlled areas the government launched the largest military operation in the world to rescue them. The civilians were held at gun point and the LTTE violated the Geneva accord and our security forces rescued them. Why is no body talking about that”, Minister Peiris said.