INTERVIEW

IN THE SECURITY OF Dayan Jayatilleka speaks to Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the security situation in Sri Lanka.

n Australia, Sri Lanka continues to dominate We do not, however, have a unified nation—a headlines about allegations of war crimes nation that considers itself Sri Lankan, irrespective and the influx of asylum-seeking refugees, of and transcending ethnic, linguistic and but comparatively little is known about religious markers. The challenge is not so much ISri Lanka’s history and politics. Dr Dayan state-building but nation-building. Jayatilleka is among Sri Lanka’s leading and Whether Sri Lanka can win the peace and most respected political commentators. A prolific ensure the long-term durability of that peace writer, he has published several books, including depends on the nature of the peace. If it is a The Travails of a Democracy: Unfinished War, victor’s peace, and if victory is defined or felt to Protracted Crisis (1995); Fidel’s Ethics of Violence: be one of the Sinhalese over the Tamils, it will The Moral Dimension of the Political Thought of not be a durable peace. On the other hand, we Fidel Castro (2007), and Long War, Cold Peace: can only win an inclusive and fair peace if there Conflict and Crisis in Sri Lanka(2013) . In addition, is a redrawing of the social contract that addresses and until recently, he was Sri Lanka’s ambassador the root causes of the conflict—the mutual to the United Nations in Geneva (2007–09) and alienation of ’s majority and minority ambassador to France, Portugal and UNESCO communities—and if there is an equitable (2011–13). In March, he spoke to defence analyst integration or a reasonable, centripetal measure Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about Sri Lanka’s of devolution. political future; the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); allegations of war crimes Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: Why is the defeat against the Sri Lankan state; the causal factors of of the LTTE significant? You call the war against Tamil secessionism; Sri Lanka’s evolving relations the LTTE a ‘just war.’ How do you explain it in with the United States, India, Pakistan and China; the context of Sri Lanka’s and its future strategic options. civil war and its bloody conclusion? Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: Now that the civil Dayan Jayatilleka: The war is over, what are the challenges for Sri Lanka’s LTTE was arguably one political future? Can Sri Lanka ‘win the peace’ of the contemporary and achieve enduring political stability? world’s most ferociously Dayan Jayatilleka: The protracted mid-intensity formidable terrorist militia civil war has been won, but the peace has not. or irregular armed I have encapsulated our situation in my new book, Long War, Cold Peace. The challenge that lies ahead for is precisely to create a nation. Dayan Jayatilleka is a Senior We have a state—one that has laudably restored Lecturer in Political Science at the its legitimate territorial boundaries, which are , Sri Lanka. co-extensive with the island’s natural ones.

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formations. The decisive military defeat imposed Dresden—which may be judged atrocities, war on it and the destruction of the LTTE as crimes, or crimes against humanity—altered the a fighting machine are surely significant and fundamentally just character of the Allied war contain lessons for Asia and the global South, against the fascist Axis powers. though one cannot of course speak of a ‘model.’ I believe the term ‘Srebrenica moment’ was Despite certain ghastly excesses, which were coined by Gordon Weiss, who wrote a significant exceptions, I have always held that the Sri Lankan book, The Cage, but used the S-word in a later war against the Tigers was unavoidable given interview or article in his advocacy mode rather the nature and behaviour of the LTTE. The Sri than in an authorial voice. In Srebrenica, the Lankan use of force was not disproportionate Bosnian Serb militia removed 8,000 unarmed given that the Tigers fielded a larger number of males from UN custody and slaughtered them suicide bombers than did any radical Islamist in cold blood in a premeditated massacre. The movement, deployed a pirate navy (with a suicide chain of command was also clear because Radko boat component), and had a fledgling air force. Mladic visited the camp. When and where did The Sri Lankan war was to save its citizenry from the Sri Lankan armed forces do anything of the weekly terrorist suicide bombing and restore the sort? If the Sri Lankan side had done so, or ever island state’s territorial unity and integrity, both intended to, why would it have sacrificed many of which are legitimate objectives. Had the Lankan soldiers belonging to elite units, in the successful state not gone to war or had it permitted the Tiger attempt to breach the LTTE’s bund-bunker leadership to be evacuated, the cost in blood and complex, to free tens of thousands of Tamil treasure would have been far worse than it was civilians? Would there have been over 10,000 in the war itself. All told, I continue to hold that LTTE prisoners of war, most of whom have been in its basics, the war of the Sri Lankan state met released after rehabilitation? the classic criteria of a ‘just war.’ Any talk of a Srebrenica moment does two things, both of them exceedingly damaging: It belittles the horror of Srebrenica, just as loose talk I continue to hold that in its basics, of a holocaust in any context but that of Nazism the war of the Sri Lankan state met belittles the unique horror of the Holocaust. the classic criteria of a ‘just war.’ It also provides a carpet under which to hide specific crimes and atrocities committed during Sri Lanka’s war, crimes that were exceptions Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: Some human rights rather than the rule. activists insist that 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of Sri Lanka’s secessionist-civil Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: How do you war, which they claim was won in a manner that respond to the school of thought that espouses mirrored the war crimes committed at Srebrenica the belief that the rise of Tamil secessionism in Bosnia. Is this an accurate interpretation? and the LTTE, including the justification for Dayan Jayatilleka: I do not want to get into the the tactics that the group adopted to emerge numbers game either to inflate or deny, because supreme and fight its war of secession, was I do not have the answers. I do know though principally caused by the actions, policies and that even the Charles Petrie report, the internal responses of the Sri Lankan state? report into the actions or inactions of the United Dayan Jayatilleka: The emergence of Tamil Nations during the final stages of the last war, has secessionism and even the LTTE could arguably a redacted figure, which has been resurfaced by be seen as a response to and a result of the non-Sri Lankan investigative journalists, and that behaviour of the Sri Lankan state, but not so figure is 7,000. As a political scientist by training the strategy, tactics and character of the LTTE. and profession, I do not believe, however, that The renowned scholar Walter Laqueur, editor the number of civilian deaths negate the ‘just of the Penguin Reader’s Guide to Fascism, wrote war’ character of the Sri Lankan war against the in his book The New Terrorism (1999) that in its Tigers, anymore than Hiroshima, Nagasaki and ruthlessness and fanaticism, the only parallels he

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can see for the LTTE are the European fascist the elected representatives of the Tamil people movements of the 1920s and 1930s. Pulitzer on the issue of provincial autonomy, had its own Prize winning journalist John F. Burns described message been more credible, then relations with the LTTE’s leader Prabhakaran as the Pol Pot of the United States could have easily been put on South Asia. The Economist (London) wrote that a better footing and the elements in Washington the LTTE was almost classically fascist. who wish to give Colombo the benefit of the Now I do not see how the depredations of doubt would have had a stronger hand to play. the Sri Lankan state, which is a multi-party democracy, albeit of an ethnocentric sort, could justify the fascistic terrorism of the LTTE. How I do not see how the depredations can the sins of omission and commission of the of the Sri Lankan state, which is a Sri Lankan state justify or even explain the murder multi-party democracy, albeit of an by a Tiger suicide bomber of Rajiv Gandhi, Nehru’s grandson and then prime minister of ethnocentric sort, could justify the India; of Neelan Tiruchelvam, Harvard scholar fascistic terrorism of the LTTE. and Tamil nationalist leader; or of Rajini Tiranagama, the doctor and human rights activist whose life and killing by the Tigers is the subject Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: What of the of the movie No More Tears, Sister narrated by future for Sri Lanka-India relations? You have Michael Ondaatje? referred to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu as constituting a ‘permanent threat’ to Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: What has caused Sri Lanka. Why? the continued deterioration in Sri Lanka-US Dayan Jayatilleka: Taking the long view, indeed relations? Should this trend continue to escalate, the very long view, Tamil Nadu has always been what are the likely implications for Sri Lanka? the source of a geopolitical and geostrategic Dayan Jayatilleka: The United States views Sri threat. Today, separatist sentiment is as high as it Lanka through the prism of its competition or was in the 1980s, perhaps higher. Given that 70 contestation with China in Asia and the Indian million Tamils in Tamil Nadu regard the Tamils Ocean, and sees the island as an actual or potential of Sri Lanka as their ethnic kin, and given the ally of China. The United States is also committed geographic proximity between Tamil Nadu and to a ‘liberal humanitarian’ notion of the world northeast Sri Lanka, the abiding Lankan threat order, in which national sovereignty does not perception remains valid. play a major role—unless it is the national Sri Lanka must realise that we cannot get the sovereignty of the United States and its allies, support of Asia, the Non-Aligned Movement, the of course. Significant segments of the US polity BRICS or the larger global South if we do not and society have been influenced by the highly have the support of India, and with an actively effective, sophisticated and emotive lobbying hostile Tamil Nadu in play, the only way we can by the Tamil diaspora. Sri Lanka’s President win back India’s support is by strengthening Rajapaksa is also regarded as too independent New Delhi’s hand so it can balance off Tamil minded, too much of a maverick. These and Nadu. This can be done by fast-tracking a other factors have increased the gap between the political solution to the Tamil issue by successfully United States and Sri Lanka. negotiating with the elected representatives of That being said, had the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil people, mainly the Tamil National government managed the post-war situation in Alliance (TNA), on the basis of implementing the a more transparent and democratic manner, had arrangements for devolution already embedded it been more rational in its discourse and political in our Constitution. There is no non-aligned conduct, had it taken a leaf from the book of option for Sri Lanka without India; no Indian Myanmar and opened up, had it been more option without settling with the Tamils; and no sensitive to US concerns over civil liberties, had settlement with the Tamils without devolution or it made progress in its political negotiations with the TNA.

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Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: What role does Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has, logically, always valued India’s nemesis—Pakistan—have in Sri Lanka’s an influential friend far away who could help foreign policy? Given Pakistan’s significant balance the rather more complex or fickle assistance to Sri Lanka, which helped defeat the friend next door. Sri Lankan public opinion has LTTE, do you foresee bilateral relations evolving consistently placed China ahead of all others as into a strategic partnership, or is there a limit to a friend of the country. the relationship? Dayan Jayatilleka: Sri Lanka and Pakistan have Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: Can Sri Lanka always had a solid military relationship. Indeed, reconcile its foreign policy balancing act with the my fear is that the new surge of Sinhala-Buddhist United States, India and China? What strategic Islamophobia led by elements of the Buddhist options does it have today? clergy, and perceptions of proximity of these Dayan Jayatilleka: Yes, Sri Lanka can do so clergymen grouped in the Bodhu Bala Sena but isn’t at the moment, which is dangerously (BBS or Buddhist Force Army) to some highly counter-productive. In 1962, during the India- influential officials, may be detrimental to our China war, Sri Lanka led by Prime Minister strategic relations with Pakistan. At the same time, Sirimavo Bandaranaike was admirably successful I do not see Sri Lanka and Pakistan growing into a in balancing its strategic interests. In her second qualitatively closer relationship, nor do I see such term, this balancing expanded to include the a need. Such an upgrade may even negatively United States. More recently, during the tenure affect an already dicey relationship with India. of President Kumaratunga and the stewardship of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar (who was shot dead by the Tigers), Colombo successfully The Sri Lankan ruling elite is completely managed its relationship with Beijing, New Delhi out of sync with the temper of our and Washington. So it can be done because it has been done more than once. times, not only in terms of the global What is lacking in Colombo today is a strong zeitgeist but also that of twenty-first dose of realism, which is an imperative given the century Asia. geostrategic vulnerabilities of a relatively small island. Instead, the regime’s ethos today are of an overly ideological, truculent, slightly xenophobic, Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe: Tell us why China is and rather isolationist outlook. I have defined important to Sri Lanka. this in the Sri Lankan press as the ‘garrison state Dayan Jayatilleka: China is a permanent delusion.’ Sri Lanka sounds and acts as if George member of the UN Security Council. It has had W. Bush never left office and the ‘Global War on excellent relations with Sri Lanka since the early Terror’ doctrine and discourse are still in fashion. 1950s, whichever the ideological line in Beijing The Sri Lankan ruling elite is completely out and whichever the elected administration in of sync with the temper of our times, not only Colombo—centre-right or centre-left. China in terms of the global zeitgeist but also that of is stronger than it has ever been in centuries twenty-first century Asia. If it continues this and it has not yet peaked in its rise. Beijing has way, it will find itself on the doorstep of a less supported the Sri Lankan military and our war than friendly India and an actively hostile Tamil effort throughout our long conflict. China’s Nadu, caught in an Indo-US pincer, and isolated strategic threat perceptions with regard to from global public opinion. Sri Lanka may then separatism, terrorism and China’s high priority for wind up with its military victories jeopardised national sovereignty and non-intervention make and its control shrunk to its ethno-lingual and for great value congruency between China and ethno-religious heartland.

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