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Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremist Propaganda in Sri Lanka

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Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremist Propaganda in Sri Lanka PROCEEDINGS PROCEEDINGS BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR COUNTERING TERRORISM AND VIOLENT Lorena Cobo is a research professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and a doctoral candidate in Latin American Studies at the Andean University Simón Bolívar. She studied the field EXTREMIST PROPAGANDA IN SRI LANKA THROUGH of Security and Intelligence of Ecuador since 2009. She also worked as an analyst on organized crime STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION for the Ecuadorian state. She has been invited as a teacher in the General Staff courses of the Armed Forces and the Ecuadorian National Police. She is the first Ecuadorian woman who writes a non- compilation book about the Ecuadorian Intelligence System. Asif Fuard Defence Analyst and Strategic Communications Specialist [email protected] Abstract- Radicalization and violent extremism driven Keywords- Counter Terrorism, Extremism, Strategic by religious, racial and ethnic supremacist ideology has Communication become the new face of the ever-evolving landscape of terrorism. Gone are the days when only a military approach with either a kill-or-capture directive was I. INTRODUCTION required to root-out the scourge of terrorism. With the advent of social media and innovations in information As a result of constant innovations in information communication technology, terrorist groups are now technology and its rapidly evolving nature, the world is waging information warfare with the primary goals of faced with fighting an unseen enemy that can influence, propagating their ideology, create a fear psychosis, expand coerce and instill fear among nations and its target their support and recruit extremist terrorists. audience through the strategic dissemination of extremist Terror groups such as ISIS have been successful in content. Religious extremist terrorist organizations recruiting thousands of foreign fighters through such as ISIS have evolved greatly through their use of successful publicity campaigns on social media platforms strategic propaganda via social media to spread their and misinformation campaigns against their adversaries. radical religious views which have successfully aided their This phenomenon has created the need for a more holistic campaign to recruit foreign combatants from around the and integrated counter terrorism strategy to be adopted globe and gain a large international support base. and implemented. Strategic communications and counter narratives is the new weapon against the ideological war Many countries have been successful in militarily defeating on terror. violent extremism. However, in the face of military setbacks suffered by a terrorist organization such as ISIS, Since the end of a three decade long protracted war in they are still capable of influencing their target audience 2009, Sri Lanka has been grappling with the growing through the use of strategic communication campaigns influence of Muslim Jihadi and Buddhist extremism. This (NATO StratCom COE, 2015). The asymmetric setting of paper will take an in-depth look into the rise of violent extremist terrorism which is currently prevailing, focuses extremist groups in the wake of a post conflict scenario and their implications on Sri Lanka’s national security. more on political, cultural, religious, psychological and While examining the rise of Jihadi Muslim extremism economic targets rather than military targets. and Buddhist extremism, this paper aims at providing recommendations on an integrated and collaborative Following the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009, Sri strategic communication framework that is paramount to Lanka has been on the path towards reconciliation and counter terrorism and violent extremism in the present lasting peace. Despite efforts by the government to ensure security dimension. peace, security and stability in a once war battered nation, 72 11TH INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE GENERAL SIR JOHN KOTELAWALA DEFENCE UNIVERSITY GENERAL SIR JOHN KOTELAWALA DEFENCE UNIVERSITY 11TH INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE 73 PROCEEDINGS PROCEEDINGS Sri Lanka is facing a new wave of extremism which in the east the BBS and Mahason Balakaya have been religions and ethnic groups around the world that are Following investigations into ISIS operations in South poses a grave threat to national security and challenges conducting well organized misinformation campaigns spreading their brand of fundamentalism and radicalising Asia, it has come to light that Mohammed Shafi Armar, an the country’s peace building process. The rise of Islamic through social media to incite violence against the Muslim vulnerable segments of society. One can witness the rise Indian national who was named as a ‘Specially Designated extremists that indirectly promote violence and recruit community in the country. Groups such as BBS and of Christian extremist groups in Africa and Neo-Nazi Global Terrorist’ by the US State Treasury Department Sri Lankan nationals to join groups such as ISIS and Mahason Balakaya are part of a new wave of extremists extremist groups in Europe, Buddhist extremist groups was operating several Facebook and other online personal the recent spate of violence orchestrated and influenced who are radicalizing youth and spreading their version of in Myanmar and Hindu extremism in India. All these messenger services to contact, radicalize and recruit by Buddhist extremist groups such as Bodu Bala Sena, religious and ethnic intolerance through the calculated groups much like the Jihad groups which try to preach youths from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to join their Ravana Balaya and Mahason Balakaya (Demons Brigade) use of misinformation and terror (Terrorism Research their brand of extremist notions of Islam, emphasise on cause. The 2016 Country Report on Terrorism established have become serious questions surrounding the matter of and Analysis Consortium, 2014). propagating their own extremist message of religious and further indication of ISIS influence in Sri Lanka as it stated national security. The use of the internet and social media ethnic intolerance. Almost all of these extremist groups that the security forces and intelligence agencies were platforms is a key weapon for extremist organizations to have the ability to incite violence, conduct devastating on full alert against the possibility of ISIS or its affiliates spread their message of hate and incite violence. II. METHODOLOGY attacks and propagate their own brand of hate through emerging in the island (Country Report on Terrorism, the use of social media and online platforms. In Myanmar 2016). These events go on to establish the undeniable fact that the ISIS recruiters have targeted vulnerable Sri On August 03, 1990, a group of LTTE terrorists raided This study is based on qualitative data derived from first- fake news on social media platforms orchestrated by Lankan Muslims to join their cause and have been on a four mosques in the Eastern town of Kattankudy and hand accounts and secondary sources from reputed books, Buddhist extremist groups within the country have led drive of online extremism in the island. began sporadically opening fire at those gathered for online journals, media reports and academic research. to widespread attacks on the minority Rohingya Muslims congregational evening prayers, killing 147 men including This paper empirically analyses the rise of violent religious (Financial Times,2018). Similarly, investigations into children (Amnesty International,1991). The attack on the extremism following the end of the war in 2009 until the extremist terrorist propaganda in India have shed light Strategic communication and the use of tactical Kattankudy mosques eventually sowed the seeds of a new current time frame. The objective of this research was to on how a Mumbai based extremist Islamic preacher who propaganda has been the primary tool which fuels the breed of extremist militants known as the Jihad group that examine the use of strategic communication by extremist has a large social media following inspired the 2016 July, extremist ideology and provide their impetus to continue were arming themselves against the LTTE. groups and provide necessary recommendations Dhakar attack (Dawn, 2016). despite being militarily weak. When analysing the process on a comprehensive framework to counter terrorist of radicalisation, terrorist groups such as ISIS conduct a planned psychological operation through the use of From 2004 onwards, moderate Muslims who did not propaganda and extremist narratives. Social media is a key instrument used by both Buddhist networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, adhere to the extremist rules of the Jihad groups in the and Muslim extremist groups to propagate hate speeches blogs and messaging services such as WhatsApp and Eastern province had to face brutal repercussions. The and extremist content which in turn have inspired Viber to influence the attitudes, emotions and perceptions Jihad groups were imposing their brand of extremist III. ANALYSIS violence in the recent past. If such radical groups are not of their target audience. The information communication Wahabi Islam on the day-to-day lives of moderate countered, the possibility of them transcending into a technology revolution and end-to-end encryption in Muslims living in certain part of the East. On several fully-fledged terrorist outfit is a possibility which cannot Even though terror has no religion, race or creed, the communication technology has posed an ever-greater cases sectarian violence had broken out in
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