Dilrook Kannangara

The world is at war again. Periodic repetition is a hallmark of wars on a global scale.

However, the little space these wars provide must be exploited to overcome similar problems opportunistically. For instance UNSC resolutions against cross border terrorists helped Sri Lanka cut funding to Tamil terrorists and ban a large number of Tamil terrorist groups.

These US led wars have a global impact. Almost the entire democratic world has passed new laws against Islamic extremism. Sri Lanka must follow suit and pass new laws against Islamic extremism.

UNSC Resolution 2178 Highly Beneficial But Comes With Obligations

UNSC resolution 2178 demands that all nations prevent the movement of terrorists through their territories. It was ratified by all UN Security Council members. It also requires governments to take action against people who travel to a country to join terrorist groups or collect funds for extremists.

Benefits of this resolution are enormous. Tamil Diaspora terrorist elements (LTTE Rump) uses European, Asian and Oceania territories to move their illegal traffic which includes fighters, weapons, narcotics, human cargo and other undesirables. Certain Tamil sections still collect money for separatism in Sri Lanka which is essentially linked to terrorism. Resolution 2178 demands these nations that are made use by Tamil terror groups to restrict their movements.

During the war a number of Tamil terrorists travelled to Sri Lanka to fight, provide ideological support and at times even humanitarian support to Tamil Tiger terrorists (LTTE). A few British nationals are noteworthy mentions here. Even Adel Balasingham and Anton Balasingham are culpable under these new laws. Unfortunately Resolution 2178 was not even thought about then. Had it been in place, these terrorists who escaped scot-free would be behind bars. Sri Lankan government must make full use of Resolution 2178 to wipe out the global separatist Tamil extremist network.

Potential benefits are also significant. It is no secret Islamic extremists are active in Sri Lanka. They are supported by Middle Eastern groups that promote what they claim a ‘pure’ form of Islam. Sri Lankan government can now request these nations not to violate Resolution 2178 and clamp down on their local agents. A couple of years ago Sri Lanka deported over one hundred fundamentalist Islamic preachers from the country. Following the new resolution, these operations will have more clout.

Resolution 2178 comes with obligations as well. During the last couple of years, Malaysia and India arrested Sri Lankan nationals on charges of carrying out terrorist acts in their countries. Most of them were Tamils while the others were Muslims. Under the obligations of Resolution 2178, Sri Lanka is required to take tough action against them and prevent recurrence of these events.

Laws to Ban Extremism

Current set of laws fail to prevent extremist activity in the island. Preaching violence and extremism go unchecked. There is a disconnect between the preacher and the doer of acts of violence though both are culpable. As the preacher tends to get away without any criminal liability, he is free to continue his hate mongering. No one has been jailed for preaching extremism in Sri Lanka. This shows a huge deficiency in the legal framework to tackle extremism.

New laws are needed to monitor, arrest and prosecute those who preach violence (irrespective of such acts are mandated by a religion), extremism and anything against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and the unitary status of the nation. Separatists too venture into the territory of extremism often.

Now is the time to make the move and exploit the full benefits of this worldwide support for action against extremism.