PHILIPPINES TO PROVIDE EXPERTISE
TO SRI LANKA TO ESTABLISH A COAST GUARD SERVICE TO QUELL TERRORISM
By Walter Jayawardhana
Manila Times, the Philippine national daily in an op-ed piece said
Manila and Colombo are in exploratory talks for the Philippines to provide
the latter’s expertise regarding establishing a Coast Guard service.
“So in this new era of cooperation between nations in a world
where terrorism has no international borders, Manila and Colombo are
in exploratory talks for the Philippines to provide its expertise to
help Sri Lanka create its own Coast Guard operation,” said the
newspaper in an ope-ed piece published in the newspaper ,September 10
and written by Random Jottings.
This was initially addressed by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama during the bilateral talks with the Philippines authorities
during the Asean summit, the newspaper said. Sri Lanka, with a porous
coastline is constantly hurt by arms smuggling by the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is currently not having a Coast Guard Service
and all such activities are run by the navy.
The following is the full editorial:
THE Philippines and Sri Lanka are both island nations embroiled in
niggling secessionist conflicts—the former with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front and the latter with the Tamil Tigers—which have
taken a cruel toll in innocent lives, and dented national and economic
progress. Most dismally, it has resulted in terrorism raising its ugly
head internally.
But while the Philippines has a well-mobilized Coast Guard (an essential
requisite for any island nation in this day and age to counter, among
other things, the smuggling of weapons and humans) to help in its antiterrorism
efforts, Sri Lanka has no such tailor made outfit in place to patrol
its territorial waters.
So in this new era of cooperation between nations in a world where
terrorism has no international borders, Manila and Colombo are in exploratory
talks for the Philippines to provide its expertise to help Sri Lanka
create its own Coast Guard operation.
This was one of many security initiatives of mutual interest addressed
between the governments of the Philippines and Sri Lanka at bilateral
talks held during the recent Manila visit by Sri Lanka’s dynamic
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama for the 14th Asean Regional Forum
when his country was admitted to the foremost political and security
forum in Asia as its 27th member—a clear reflection of Sri Lanka’s
proactive role in the regional and multilateral arena for the promotion
of peace, dialogue and cooperation for the greater benefit of the Asia-Pacific
region in particular and the world at large.
In this context Foreign Minister Bogollagama will be hosting the International
Conference on Countering Terrorism (ICCT) in Colombo from October 18
to 20, with official delegations from around the world—including
the Philippines—expected to attend.
Keynote speakers will include Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, chairman
of the French Antiterrorist Court; Dr. Gerard Chiliand, former director
of the European Center for the Study of Conflicts; Dr. Rohan Gunaratne
who heads the Singapore-based International Center for Political Violence
and Terrorism Research; political scientist Dr. Peter Chalk of the Rand
Corp., USA; and General V. P. Malik, former commander of the Indian
Army.
Explains Foreign Minister Bogollagama: “We see the ICCT as the
start of a process devoted towards bringing the world to further understand
the effects of terrorism and the need to encounter the same. Sri Lanka’s
30 years of experience and sacrifices made on account of terrorism and
the manner in which it is finding its way out of terrorism has broader
relevance, particularly to emerging democracies.”
Ironically, the venue of the conference is the newly established Lakshman
Kadrigamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies—dedicated
to the memory of the former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister who was senselessly
assassinated by the Tamil Tigers.
The institute is affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
is geared to be a multidisciplinary research forum devoted
to the study of Sri Lanka’s strategic interests, and mandated to
develop a national perspective on issues pertaining to international
relations within domestic and international contexts.
As the country’s pitch man on the international circuit, Foreign
Minister Bogollagama relentlessly, and with utmost credibility,
countermands the volumes of unsubstantiated propaganda dissipated by
the Tamil Tigers. His unyielding mission is peace which is embroidered
in the fabric of a nation that is a key custodian of Buddhism which
preaches a philosophy of harmony and tranquility.
He explains: “We have a commitment to what is right spanning thousands
of years. We do not shirk from engaging with the international community.
Our effort is to shine among the best and we will get there.
“Sri Lanka’s diplomatic campaign is concentrated in countries
where the LTTE [the dubious political arm of the terrorist outfit] has
traditionally raised funds through intimidation, extortion, human trafficking,
narcotics trade and arms smuggling. The international community is itself
alarmed by these activities and is cracking down on the LTTE.”
Almost wearily he adds: “The efforts by the supporters of the
LTTE to raise the issue of human rights before the European Parliament
turned out to be a damp squib. In fact, Sri Lanka was elected as the
vice-chairman of the Human Rights Council.”(
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