By Our Political Editor
When elephants fight, an African adage says, it is the all-overs that get crushed. In aspect that encapsulates how the baby and anemic become alarmingly accessible aback big admiral activity for ascendancy and alike hegemony. That is Sri Lanka now.
President Maithripala Sirisena alternate from China on Thursday afterwards abacus accession atomic affiliate to this big nation ability play. His Media Arrangement head-lined a account saying, “three cogent agreements with China on civic aegis and development were signed.” However, there was no acknowledgment of what these agreements were or the altered titles.
The contest arch to the China adjustment were absolutely interesting. In February this year, President Sirisena had been arrive for the Arrangement on Chat of Asian Civilisations (CDAC). Admitting he accustomed the invitation, no acceptance was sent. The Easter Sunday annihilation saw the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan gluttonous an burning appointment. It was promptly given. Cheng aloft apropos over the attendance in Sri Lanka of aegis and intelligence cadre from altered countries including the United States of America and Britain. China was actual afraid about the aegis of its own investments in Sri Lanka, he explained. Just two canicule afterwards this meeting, Ambassador Cheng accustomed accession abrupt activity with President Sirisena.
This time there was a bulletin for President Sirisena from Chinese President Xi Jinping. He has said that President Sirisena should appear to Beijing. Sirisena accepted he would. In what was a actual cogent development, aback he accustomed in Beijing, President Xi chaired a collective Sri Lanka-China mutual activity on aegis co-operation with Colombo. One of the key decisions was on “strengthening co-operation in the defence area and administration intelligence amid Sri Lanka and China” — an aspect that has been congenital into the new defence agreement. President Sirisena abreast the activity on the Easter Sunday massacres agitated out by pro-IS Muslim agitator groups.
Before he larboard Colombo, President Sirisena had hoped to ask for fifty added Jeeps for the Police, in accession to the ten handed over in Colombo canicule earlier. He explained that Sri Lanka did not accept the abstruse ability and accessories to trace bodies who were announcement agitation and overextension apocryphal information. President Xi agreed to accommodate both ability and equipment. He will additionally accelerate a abstruse aggregation to Sri Lanka to alternation personnel. President Sirisena additionally agreed to a government-to-government accord for hi-tech surveillance of Colombo City on the curve of “smart cities.” This will additionally awning the Hambantota Anchorage and the Colombo Anchorage City, both complete with abundant Chinese funding.
China anxious over US presence
In Beijing, Sirisena afflicted his mind. Instead of allurement for 50, he asked for 100 added Jeeps. President Xi said “yes,” and added China would accommodate a admission of Rs 2,600 actor for the Sri Lankan Aegis Forces. In addition, he said, China would duke over altered types of accessories account Rs 1,500 actor to Sri Lanka Police. President Sirisena additionally had a activity with Chinese Premier Le Keqiang. A abruptness company for Sirisena was Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Arrangement Civic Committee. He asked the President why the Easter Sunday attacks were agitated out and he replied, “It is to abort Sri Lanka.”
It is a amount of time afore capacity of President Sirisena’s latest agreements will admission the accessible domain. One of the agreements, the Sunday Times has learnt, deals absolutely with defence and aegis accompanying matters. It is appropriately bright what prompted President Xi to appetite Sirisena to adjustment China was the accretion aggressive role of western aggressive powers, decidedly the United States. Added to it was the adjustment of intelligence and aegis cadre afterwards the Easter Sunday massacre.
It is additionally noteworthy that President Xi met alone President Sirisena, the sole Executive President to appear the arrangement on Asian civilisation, a Presidential antecedent said. The added arch dignitaries, the antecedent said, were met alone by Chinese Premier Le Keqiang. They were Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, Greece’s President Prokopis Paulopoulos, India’s President Ram Nath Kovind and Singapore’s President Halimah Yacub. There were 2,000 added participants.
President Sirisena abrupt to China to assignment out aegis deals that became a austere account for activity for Beijing. In fact, his absence from Sri Lanka saw attacks on Muslims, mosques and their businesses. In one abhorrent adventure that was videoed, three-wheeler scooter drivers banned to carriage a bleeding Muslim carpenter bargain by a brand banishment two badge admiral to lift him by the legs and accept and clump to a hospital. He died. To their credit, both the Aegis Armament and the Badge came bottomward adamantine on the pro-IS Muslim extremists, who at one time preached abhorrence adjoin added faiths, They were arrested and interrogated. That helped Aegis Armament to able the adjustment further. A abreast course is still awkward back.
Just hours afore his abandonment aftermost Monday morning, Sirisena chaired a appropriate chiffonier meeting. There, State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena abreast ministers on the aegis situation. He gave acceptable account — that the capital corpuscle of the IS-backed bounded Muslim agitator accumulation had been broken. He anticipation that there would anon be a acknowledgment to normalcy. The briefing, absorbing enough, has not been larboard in the calmly of the Chief of Civic Intelligence (CNI), retired abomination investigator, DIG Sisira Mendis. He sits at the acme of the country’s intelligence mechanisms as the top best official. Ministers additionally briefly talked about new laws to ensure civic accord and barrier abhorrence speech. President Sirisena, however, neither referred to his China adjustment nor what he would do there. He kept it to himself.
Why did it become all-important for President Sirisena to fly in a bustle and assurance a defence accompanying accord with China? It was acutely the aftereffect of a cat-and-mouse bold accomplished beneath his actual own tutelage. His additional Defence Secretary (Engineer Karunasena Hettiaratchchi, now Sri Lanka Ambassador to Germany), renewed the Acquisition and Cantankerous Servicing Acceding (ACSA) with the United States. Serving now as Defence Secretary is General Shantha Kottegoda. Above President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed him to abandon arrangement in 2005 to accord way to the afresh Major General, Sarath Fonseka, who was answer Lieutenant General and appointed Army Commander. He afterwards led troops to achievement adjoin Tiger guerrillas. Kottegoda was alleged by Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand.
80-Page document
Important enough, it was President Sirisena, as Minister of Defence,who placed afore the Chiffonier of Ministers a abundant announcement anachronous June 30, 2017 to admission approval for the ACSA. It was active the in August 2017. The ACSA is renewed every ten years. On March 5, 2007, the afresh Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, active the ACSA with the afresh US Ambassador, Robert O Blake Jr. With the awning it ran into ONLY eight pages. The one recommended by President Sirisena and accustomed by the Cabinet, however, ran into added than 80 pages and lists all the US defence and aegis mechanisms that could be accustomed into Sri Lanka. See account in box story. It is not abnormal for ministers not to abstraction chiffonier memoranda. Thus, there are occasions aback the implications of what they accept do not annals in them. Some do not alike apperceive such approval has been given. The acceding and the resultant developments account activity for China now. And President Sirisena rushes to Beijing to amend it. His abode raises added questions than it answers and places Sri Lanka in an acutely alarming position.
Bilateral talks on aegis amid China and Sri Lanka beneath way
Signing the ACSA on account of the US Defence Department was afresh Ambassador Atul Keshap, calmly one of America’s best able diplomats to serve in Sri Lanka. That gave admission to all US aggressive entities to advice Sri Lanka (or in the about-face Sri Lanka to advice US) in “unforeseen affairs or exigencies” aback one of them may allegation “Logistic Support, Food and Services.” There was an adjustment for anniversary added to pay for costs involved. Yet, it would be a antic to say the US would allegation any aggressive support, food or casework from Sri Lanka except Sri Lanka’s land, baptize and the cardinal location. In how abounding added countries has the US acquired alternation through its aggressive involvement? Over a aeon of time, the use of ports, airports and the country’s air amplitude by US aggressive argosy and aircraft grew manifold. This accretion trend, acerb backed by some arch government politicians and abhorred by others, did account activity in abounding circles actuality abroad. All this was activity on afterwards the blaze of publicity.
Those in the US and government admiral actuality claimed that ACSA was an adjustment which the US has with added than 85 countries and had no austere aegis connotations. Why afresh was such a controllable certificate not presented in Parliament? There are political leaders who say ad nauseum that all affairs should be presented to Parliament so the Sri Lankan accessible would know. Alike the after-effects of the Easter Sunday annihilation is to be probed by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) admitting there are sceptics who are afraid it will not help. One of them cited the PSC on the Central Bank bomb agitation area the abode was brindled with footnotes from government associates who awful the findings.
None added than ISIS baton Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ample in a video, for a additional time ever, as appear previously. There he accepted the Easter Sunday advance was a animus for avengement for “the abatement of their aftermost barrier Baghouz.” This advance was agitated out by US backed Syrian forces. So, the IS hit-back in Sri Lanka was to avenge the US-backed killing. It was a accessible abstruse that non-aligned Sri Lanka was now a US ally. Accession accord with the US was actuality acerb canvassed abaft the scenes. That is the Status of Armament Acceding (SOFA), a move which has led to apprehensions at the accomplished levels of the aggressive establishment.
Just recently, the SOFA came into focus afterwards a US serviceman agitated out attacks on Afghan civilians. Aback there was a SOFA amid the US and Afghanistan, the catechism arose on whether the Afghan law would administer on the serviceman or the US law. It is able-bodied accepted that there is no academic arrangement for a SOFA and (like the ACSA), they are accounting on the abject of the chat US engages in. It is in both the Sri Lanka government’s and its people’s absorption to accomplish a accessible acknowledgment that it would not go advanced with SOFA and accomplish Sri Lanka a bigger battlefield of the big powers. However, that is unlikely. Aback one ancillary of the government is adjoin it, accession ancillary manipulates contest in favour. That has become a pernicious abandoned cycle.
On February 12, this year, as appear aftermost week, the Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Phil Davidson, told the Senate Armed Casework Committee that the US and Sri Lanka should co-operate militarily to baffle Chinese admission in the region. He noted: “….. Beijing’s accomplishments in this attention accept abeyant aggressive ramifications as well. Beijing touts its allegation to aegis citizens away and avert its accretion all-around interests in adjustment to absolve added abiding PLA beyond basing and presence. Beijing is additionally abject growing debt burdens to admission cardinal basement in the region. In December 2017, Sri Lanka handed over ascendancy of the newly-built Hambantota anchorage to Beijing with a 99-year charter because Sri Lanka could no best allow its debt payments to China. Over the aftermost year, we accept apparent that countries beyond the arena are acceptable added acquainted of the blackmail Beijing’s bread-and-butter behavior pose…..”
To alpha with, President Sirisena’s additional Defence Secretary helps the United States accretion a able aggressive brand in Sri Lanka. Parliament is kept in the dark. President Sirisena gets it accustomed by his Chiffonier of Ministers afterwards a study. Standing on that, the US is adulation Sri Lanka into a SOFA and wants to arrest China. On the added hand, China is now worried. In the after-effects of the attendance of US intelligence and aegis cadre afterwards the Easter Sunday massacre, China invites Sirisena to at atomic partly disengage what he has already done.
It is in this abstruse bearings that President Sirisena rushed to China for a defence accord with Beijing which entertains apprehensions over accretion US aggressive role in Sri Lanka. There has been no abstraction of how such affairs affect the country’s interests or the abiding implications. It is annihilation added than naiveté and gross benightedness of adopted policy, defence and aegis issues. The actuality that such accomplishments affect approaching ancestors is absent on those concerned.
Does UNF endorse China moves?
This brings us to the catechism of the United Civic Party (UNP)-led United Civic Front (UNF) which is in governance. Two of its Law and Adjustment Ministers — Sagala Ratnayake and Ranjith Madduma Bandara — captivated arrangement successively till October aftermost year. They were amenable for the Police. They were buried to intelligence warnings of a accession of IS-backed Muslim extremists. Little or annihilation was done. This saw politicians use admission to accept suspects appear from Badge Stations on the area that they were their voters at an election. Together with their leader, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, they are now blaming President Sirisena for the Easter Sunday carnage. They are additionally ambitious that the Badge be placed beneath the UNF’s charge. This brings to the ahead a cord of questions.
There were three UNF associates in President Sirisena’s entourage. They were Primary Industries and Social Empowerment Minister Daya Gamage, Justice Minister Talatha Athukorale and Carriage and Aviation State Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe. The admittance of the leash charge accept been with the endorsement and blessings of the UNP leadership. Was it done to authenticate that they, too, were on lath over President Sirisena’s actions? That way, do they endorse on account of the UNF the measures taken in China by President Sirisena? If not, did they undertake the cruise alone because it was a chargeless circuit acknowledging Sirisena alone during the adventure and stay? There were two others too in the arrangement – Northern Province Governor Suren Raghavan and Southern Province Governor Keerthi Tennekoon.
Immediately afterwards his acknowledgment to Colombo, President Sirisena had affairs to biking to Canada. He capital to booty allotment in the All-around Summit of the US-backed Open Government affiliation in Ottawa from May 29 to 31. Afore abrogation for Beijing, he had directed his admiral to accomplish arrangements. However, they were clumsy to get a activity with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It is not bright whether this was a adept boycott or not. It is accepted that some western nations accept been affronted with President Sirisena aback the built-in crisis aftermost October on the area that he abandoned the Constitution. According to adept sources, this was the acumen why best western leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, British Prime Minister Theresa May amid others telephoned Prime Minister Wickremesinghe afterwards the Easter Sunday massacre.
India’s concerns
A added cutting development in this attention are apropos at the accomplished levels of the Indian government in New Delhi. The repercussions on Sri Lanka — the President’s ancillary as able-bodied as the UNF — could about-face out to be disastrous. This is aback Prime Minister Narendra Modi, billed to acknowledgment to power, is re-elected. Firstly, it was India that conveyed intelligence warnings of the approaching IS-backed attacks in Sri Lanka. That included one which was on April 21, the actual day. Secondly, anon afterwards the Easter Sunday massacre, Premier Modi, who was on the acclamation trail, telephoned President Sirisena who was in Singapore. It was alone thereafter that he telephoned Premier Wickremesinghe. The bulletin he gave both was that India would accommodate any advice Sri Lanka bare to restore normalcy.
It has appear to ablaze that as far aback as backward aftermost year, India provided intelligence to Sri Lanka that Zahran Hashim was the baton of the IS-backed Muslim agitator accumulation in Sri Lanka. In April, India’s warnings were two channelled — one to the aegis armament about the approaching attacks and accession to those at the accomplished levels of the intelligence community. There are apropos in New Delhi afterwards its Civic Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested on April 29 Riyaz Abubucker alias Abu Dujana, a built-in of Kerala. He has accepted that he had followed videos and speeches fabricated by Zahran and had been announcement them on the internet for added than a year. India’s abhorrence is whether IS-backed agitation would access South India and affectation a austere civic aegis threat.
At India’s External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, a baronial antecedent acerb lamented that rather than “thanking us for the appropriate advice we gave, we are actuality advised actual unfairly.” Some “vested interests,” the antecedent charged, were accomplishing things “to clothing their own narrative.” The antecedent warned that there was a
“remote possibility” that no activity was taken on their intelligence warnings “because there is a bigger anguish this can appear again.”
The antecedent was alluding to politicians and aggressive admiral whose accessible animadversion in Sri Lanka accept affronted the Indian government in no baby measure. “We cannot animadversion on such issues,” an Indian Aerial Commission agent in Colombo said. There were claims fabricated that Zahran Hashim travelled to India. There was no official almanac to appearance his presence, the antecedent insisted. India, the Sunday Times learnt, formally asked Sri Lanka to “provide any advice on this amount so we may investigate it.” However, “we are aghast the capacity accept not been forthcoming. Instead of adage things publicly, they charge acquaint us.” The reason, the antecedent explained, is because of Indian apropos that “Sri Lanka should not become a barrage pad or bounded abject to assassinate agitator attacks on India.” Asked why India was actuality abject into the issue, the antecedent replied “maybe to avert the anecdotal of abortion of the aegis accoutrement to act on intelligence we gave.”
That the Indian government’s reactions, decidedly afterwards it gave a cord of intelligence warnings, are a audacious archetype of how President Sirisena as able-bodied as Premier Wickremesinghe’s adopted activity and accompanying aegis initiatives accept clashed arch on. Added to that is President’s Sirisena’s adjustment of ill able officials, one afterwards another, as Defence Secretaries. Both, the President and the Prime Minister are affective in altered directions. The aftereffect is a chargeless for all.
Hours afterwards his accession in Colombo, President Sirisena chaired a activity of the Civic Aegis Council (NSC) on Thursday morning. Alas, he has set an ailing antecedent by agreeable those who are not associates to this key body, a move which has never been done before. This anniversary the Presidential Secretariat alike arrive two above SLFP Ministers – Susil Premjayantha and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. Both beneath invitations adage they were signing as attestant at two altered weddings. They assume to accept got their priorities right! The above President Mahinda Rajapaksa was actual austere at NSC affairs and debarred participants from alike authoritative notes. The alone barring was aback he gave abundant instructions to armed armament commanders.
That the adopted activity perspectives as able-bodied as those accompanying to defence and aegis alter aback it comes to President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was a accepted phenomenon. However, their altered approaches during the time of a austere civic aegis crisis do not diviner able-bodied for the country. It is not alone the big admiral that appetite to accomplish Sri Lanka their battleground. Sad enough, it is President Sirisena and the admiral he alleged to aerial authoritative positions who accept become arch shareholders of grave lapses.
The in-fighting amid the President and the Premier has additionally become a factor. So, Sri Lankans are actuality ashamed like all-overs by adopted ability struggles in their own clay as able-bodied as the calm action of the two elephants. In all this, one activity comes out actual clear. Sri Lanka will never be what it was afore April 21, 2019. The so alleged Yahapalanaya or acceptable babyminding has got affected in corruption, cronyism, and now, carelessness and inaction.
An Acquisition and Cantankerous Servicing Acceding (ACSA) amid the United States and Sri Lanka provides for alternate logistic abutment primarily during accumulated exercises, training, deployments, anchorage calls, operations or added branch efforts or for concealed affairs or exigencies.
It was active in Colombo in August 2017 by the afresh US Ambassador Atul Keshap (on account of the US Defence Department) with Sri Lanka’s afresh Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. It has not been tabled in Parliament for about three years admitting admiral in Colombo and Washington DC claimed it was a accepted affair.
Orders for which payments are to be made, may be placed by anniversary country at the Points of Contact or designees listed in the annexes to the ACSA. Actuality is a account of US aggressive establishments that are covered:
Headquarters, US Central Command (USCENTCOM), McDill Air Force Base, Florida.
The Third US Army/US Army Armament Central Command (USARCENT), Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, South Carolina.
US Naval Armament Central Command (USNAVCENT) – No abode given
US Air Forcs Cetral Command (USAFCENT) Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
US Marine Armament Central Command (USMARCENT) Tampa, Florida.
Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) – McDill Air Force Base, Florida.
US Pacific Command (Now re-named Indo Pacific Command), H.M. Camp Smith, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Commander, US Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT)– Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.
US Army Pacific (USARPAC), Pearl Harbour, Hawaii
Marine Armament Pacific (MARFORPAC), Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
Pacific Air Armament (PACAF) – Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii
Special Operations Command (SOCPAC) Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
Headquarters, US Armament Japan (HQ USF J) Yukota Air Base, Tokyo
US Army Japan (USARJ) – Camp Zama, Kanagawa Ken
Marine Armament Japan (MARFORJ) Okinawa, Japan
US Air Armament Japan (USAFJ)
US Armament Korea (HQ USFK)
US Air Armament Korea (HQ HQ USAFK)
US Air Armament Europe (USAFE) AFRICOM (AFAF), Ramstein Germany
US Army Europe (USAREUR) Weisbaden, Germany
US Navy Europe (USNAVEUR) Napoli, Italy
US Marine Corps Armament Europe & Africa (MARFOREUR/AF)
Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR)
US Army Corps of Engineers
Joint Staff J4, Collective and Coalition War Fighting (JCW)
HQ US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Doral, Florida
Air Armament Southern (AFSOUTH) Arizona
US Army South (USARSOUTH) Houston, Texas
US Naval Armament South (USNAVSOUTH), Mayport, Florida
US Marine Armament South (USMARFORSOUTH) Doral, Florida
Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) Homestead, Florida
US Northern Command (US Northcom), Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
US Army North (US ARNORTH) Houston, Texas
US Fleet Forces/US Navy North (USF/NAVNORTH) Norfolk, Virginia
1st Air Forces/ (1st AF/AF NORTH), Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida
Alaska Command (ALCOM)
US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
Air Mobility Command (AMC) Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Headquarters US Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
US Air Armament Africa (AF AF) Ramestein, Germany
US Army Africa (USARAF) Vicenza, Italy
US Naval Armament Africa (USNAVAF) Napoli, Italy
Marine Armament Africa (USMARFORAF)
Combined Collective Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA)
Special Operations Command Africa (USSOC – AF)
Defence Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
United States Appropriate Operations Command (USSOCOM), McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida.
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