{"id":108625,"date":"2020-11-13T15:46:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T22:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=108625"},"modified":"2020-11-13T15:46:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T22:46:37","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c8d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/11\/13\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c8d\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C8d"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

ACQUISITION\nAND CROSS SERVICING AGREEMENT (ACSA)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States made an abortive bid, in 2002, to finalize an\nAcquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), formerly known as \u2018NATO\nMutual Support Act\u2019, with Sri Lanka. The attempt was made after the Ceasefire\nAgreement was signed on Feb. 21. 2002. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements are negotiated on a\nbilateral basis by the US for use in combined exercises, training, operations,\nor deployments and allow its forces to obtain food, fuel, transport,\nammunition, and equipment, collectively termed logistical supplies.\nReimbursement is in cash, or rarely, replacement in kind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage announced plans for\nACSA after Premier Wickremesinghe met US President George W. Bush in\nWashington.  The ACSA was to be finalized\nin July 2002. Minister Milinda Moragoda, being close to the US, played a high\nprofile role in the project. But when in Dec 2002, Ambassador Wills explored\nthe possibility of using Sri Lankan ports and air space to invade Iraq, Foreign\nMinister Tyronne Fernando explained the difficulty in giving into US request\nand ACSA was abandoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Foreign Minister Lakshman\nKadirgamar, (2004-2005) on a   visit to\nWashington DC, ensured that the subject of ACSA not be listed on the agenda for\nhis talks with senior leaders and officials there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in\nthe first week of March, 2007 Sri Lanka entered into ACSA with the US.\nGotabhaya Rajapaksa and Ambassador Robert O. Blake signed on behalf of Sri\nLanka and the US, respectively. Both were US nationals, but Gotabhaya Rajapaksa\nheld dual citizenship. President Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Defence\nMinister, authorized ACSA. The\nRajapaksas never bothered to inform Parliament of the Agreement, observed\nShamindra Ferdinando. They dismissed\ncalls from the left parties to table the agreement in Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement allowed the United States and Sri Lanka to transfer\nand exchange logistics, supplies, support, and re-fueling services, either in\nkind or at cost, during peacekeeping missions, humanitarian operations or joint\nexercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically excluded from its coverage were weapon systems such\nas guided missiles, naval mines and torpedoes, nuclear ammunition and items\nsuch as warheads, warhead sections, cartridge and air crew escape propulsion\nsystem components, chaff and chaff dispensers, guidance kits for bombs or other\nammunition, chemical ammunition (other than riot-control agents), any other\nmaterials, subject to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was absolutely nothing special about the Acquisition and\nCross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which Gotabaya signed, said Chandraprema. It was like so many other ACSA\u2019s that the US\nhad signed with other countries. The provisions of the Sri Lankan ACSA of 2007\nare almost identical to those found in the ACSA signed between the US and\nAustralia in April 2010. The difference being that in Australia, the ACSA is a\npublic document whereas in Sri Lanka it is a top secret document. There was nothing in the 2007 ACSA that\nwarranted the secrecy in which it was signed either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the US that wanted it to be done secretly, said\nChandraprema. A cable sent to the State\nDepartment by the then US Ambassador in Colombo Robert Blake, on 31 January\n2007, (several weeks before the ACSA was signed) and released to the public by\nWikileaks said, “On December 7, 2006, Ambassador and Office of Defense\nCooperation (ODC) Chief met with Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabhaya\nRajapaksa to provide background information on a Acquisition and Cross\nServicing Agreement (ACSA) and a the draft ACSA proposed for signature. On\nJanuary 25, 2007, Secretary Rajapaksa provided concurrence to ODC Chief on the\nproposed agreement. Secretary Rajapaksa stated that he was ready to sign the\nSIPDIS agreement at anytime convenient to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 “The US Government faces some risk that the Government\nof Sri Lanka might seek to exploit the signing to convey the US Government\u2019s\nsupport for possible ongoing offensive military operations. The Embassy\ntherefore recommends the Ambassador sign the agreement in a low-key ceremony with\nSecretary Rajapaksa in late February. The Sri Lankan military is presently\nengaged in mop-up operations against the LTTE in eastern Sri Lanka. However,\nthe Defense Secretary and other military leaders have hinted they are\nconsidering further offensive military operations in northern Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We recommend holding off on the signing ceremony until late\nFebruary when we will have a clearer idea of the Sri Lankan military\u2019s\nintentions. We also do not wish to detract attention from the Sri Lankan Commission\nof Inquiry (on human rights) and the work of the International Independent\nGroup of Expert Persons who will arrive in Sri Lanka the second week of\nFebruary to observe the work of the Commission. Since the ACSA benefits U.S.\nforces transiting through the region, and since the GOSL might leak news of the\nsigning, the Embassy proposes to have the Ambassador sign the ACSA with the\nDefense Secretary with a select number of photographers and no statements. The\nEmbassy will then issue a press release following the ceremony explaining the\npurpose of the ACSA.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States, in its fierce opposition to the Eelam War had\nbanned the sale of war items to Sri Lanka. As a result, the Sri Lanka Air Force\n(SLAF) could not use its US built C-130 Hercules troop transport aircraft or\nthe Israeli built Kfir<\/em> fighter jets. Israel, a strong US ally, followed\nWashington\u2019s policy. Thus, the C-130 and the fighter jets were grounded for\nlack of spares. In 1993 when the Special (Boat) Squadron was created, the US\nhelped and in 1996, the US\nmilitary  engaged in exercises with Sri\nLankan Special Forces, including the Navy\u2019s elite Special Boat Squadron. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA had helped Sri Lanka and Gotabaya  was right to give them a favour in return by\nsigning the ACSA, observed Chandraprema. Ambassador\nBlake assured that that ACSA wouldn\u2019t pave the way for US bases here. Having signed ACSA, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa\nreiterated Sri Lanka\u2019s commitment to defeat the LTTE, militarily, in talks with\ntop State Department official Stevan Mann, when the latter met him at the\nDefence Ministry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After ACSA, Sri Lanka received valuable US support, particularly\nduring Eelam War IV.  US provided\nspecific intelligence on \u2018floating LTTE arsenals\u2019 to Sri Lanka on a request\nmade by Navy Chief Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda. Karannagoda\u2019s move\nenabled the destruction of four LTTE vessels on the high seas, thereby\nhastening the collapse of the LTTE. In addition to those vessels that had been\nhunted down on the basis of intelligence provided by the US, the Navy hit\nseveral other LTTE ships during Eelam War IV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several weeks after the signing of the agreement, Karannagoda had\nsought a meeting with the then US defence attach\u00e9 in Colombo. Karannagoda has\nrequested for US assistance to track down the remaining LTTE vessels as the\nsuperpower was engaged in worldwide campaign against terrorism. That meeting at\nKarannagoda\u2019s office led to a meeting with Ambassador Blake, also at the same venue\nin late May 2007. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In late August 2007, the US\nprovided the required information secured from a satellite to the Navy. The US\nverified the positioning of four vessels about two weeks later. They had been\nat the same position as two weeks before. In\nfact, the US had queried whether Karannagoda\u2019s Navy had the wherewithal to\ndestroy four ships so far away from Sri Lanka. Karannagoda dispatched naval\ntask force comprising six vessels on Sept 2007 from Colombo, Trincomalee and\nGalle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Karannagoda, in his memoirs\nrevealed how an Indian diplomat based at its High Commission in Colombo made a\ndespicable attempt to misdirect the Navy by providing information contrary to\nthat of the Americans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting on US intelligence, the Navy destroyed three out of four\nLTTE vessels in the second week of Sept. 2007. The US again provided specific\nintelligence in late Sept. 2007 regarding the LTTE vessel that escaped during\nSept. 2007 operation. The fourth vessel was destroyed on Oct 7, 2007. Although Karannagoda, made no reference to\nACSA, it would be pertinent to stress that the US, perhaps reluctantly,\nprovided critically important intelligence following the finalization of the\nagreement on March 05, 2007, said Shamindra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2007 ACSA\nended in March 2017. USA and Yahapalana entered into another ACSA signed on\nAugust 4, 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts have\ncompared the 2007 and 2017 ACSAs. The 2007 ACSA was only eight pages including\nthe cover. The 2017 ACSA was 83 pages and had over 50 annexures. The annexure\ngave the lists of US commands and military establishments which will be allowed\nthe use of Sri Lanka\u2019s airports and sea ports. These voluminous annexures\ncarried the names and addresses of almost all US military establishments that\ncould have a foot print or boots on the ground in Sri Lanka. The list was\nexclusively revealed in the Sunday Times<\/em> of May 19.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday\nTimes said it has seen the ACSA agreement between by the US Defence Department\nand the Ministry of Defence. the agreement begins with a preamble which says\nThis Agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between\nthe parties (US and Sri Lanka) to be used during combined exercises, training,\ndeployments, port calls, operations, or other co-operative efforts<\/em>, <\/em><\/strong>or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the\nparties may have a need for Logistic Support, Supplies and Services. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This Agreement applies to the provision of\nLogistic Support, Supplies, and Services from the military forces of one party\nto the military forces of the other Party in return either for cash payment or\nreciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services to the\nmilitary forces of the Supplying Party. For the purpose of this Agreement, the\nSri Lanka Coast Guard is considered part of the military forces of the Ministry\nof Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significantly, it allows every single\nsecurity or military apparatus<\/strong> in the\nUnited States access to Sri Lanka. All those security commands are listed one\nby one and the Point of Contact (POC) defined. Though the agreement provides\nreciprocity, Sri Lanka\u2019s Army, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard simply have no\nresources to pay and use a military facility in the US. It is not required\neither. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2007 agreement was only for a period of seven years. The  2017 agreement is open ended, It says, This agreement shall remain in\nforce unless terminated by mutual written consent of the Parties or by either\nParty giving not less than 180 days\u2019 notice in writing to the other Party of its\nintention to terminate\u201d   While the 2007\nACSA permitted US military vessels to enter Sri Lanka ports on a \u2018one-off\u2019\nbasis, the 2017 ACSA appears to be “open ended”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambassador Hettiaratchchi told President Sirisena that during the\nnegotiations for the renewal of ACSA in 2017, he was under constant pressure\nfrom Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lanka\u2019s then ambassador in the US, to expedite the\npassage of the ACSA. Kariyawasam had made many calls to ensure the draft ACSA\nbe concluded and placed before the Cabinet of Ministers immediately, he said.\nAlso telephoning Hettiaratchchi periodically over the same matter, was then\nForeign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kariyawasam\nand Samaraweera had pressured him at a time when the Defence Ministry had\nsought the observations of the Armed Forces Commanders on the ACSA deal. The\ndraft ACSA was rushed for approval by the Cabinet because of this pressure. It\nhad been hurried through before a thorough study had been done by the armed\nforces commanders or officials well versed in the matter. Admiral Ravi\nWijegunaratne had expressed serious reservations over some of the provisions in\nthe ACSA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defence Secretary Kapila Waidyaratne, a former Additional\nSolicitor General said that he had been compelled to sign the document since the\nCabinet had approved it. He was simply implementing a Cabinet decision. His\npredecessor, Hettiaratchchi, negotiated the ACSA but was forced to rush it\nthrough the Cabinet, even before all armed forces commanders could send in\ntheir observations. This, he said, was due to pressure from the then Foreign\nMinister, Mangala Samaraweera and former Foreign Secretary Prasad\nKariyawasam.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACSA  was signed without\ncareful examination. When told that the service chief\u2019s responses were being\nawaited  before sending the ACSA to the\nCabinet , President Sirisena had said \u2018Ekeng\nmata vedak nehe. Vahaama assang karanna lesthi karanna\u2019.   ACSA hadn\u2019t been discussed at the Cabinet\nor  in Parliament. ACSA was not presented to Parliament, said\nDayasiri Jayasekera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Sirisena\u2019s Cabinet memorandum of June 30, 2017  in Sinhala had only a brief nine pages and no\nannexures. The Sinhala version of the ACSA \npresented to the Cabinet,  did not\ncontain translations of  the annexures. Due to delay in translations,  the \nagreement has been sent to Cabinet without the annexures. The English\nversion, however, had 83 pages that included the annexures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the ACSA with Sri Lanka was renewed in 2017, it was once\nagain shrouded in secrecy. The Sunday\nTimes  said that the  US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Atul Keshap,\ndirected that there be no media coverage or any publicity regarding the signing\nevent. This was why there was no news release from the US Embassy in Colombo.\nKeshap signed on behalf of the US Department of Defence. Even for the US,\ntherefore, the matter was one of utmost secrecy. The renewed document  has not been made public by Yahapalana\neither. Sri Lanka Freedom Party, among others, \nsaid that the people should be made aware of the dangers of ACSA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime\nMinister said considering the current international political situation and\ndevelopments, the 2017  ACSA agreement\nwould be favorable to the country. He said extending the agreement with the\nU.S. will be utmost importance given the global situation today.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Acquisition\nand Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) allows the United States and Sri Lanka to\ntransfer and exchange logistics supplies, support, and re-fueling services,\neither in kind or at cost, during peacekeeping missions, humanitarian\noperations or joint exercises. The categories of allowable goods and services\ninclude food, petroleum, and transportation. The provision of weapons or\nammunition is prohibited. Each nation’s forces can support the other during\ncontingencies such as disaster relief or peacekeeping operations, which reduces\nthe logistics requirement for each nation. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But  others are not so\nhappy. President of the Bar Association (BASL) Kalinga Indatissa, PC has\nwritten to Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana, PC in June 2019, under\nthe provisions of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 and Article 14A\nof the Constitution, requesting a copy of the proposed Acquisition and Cross\nServicing Agreement (ACSA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter said, \u2018the undersigned is a citizen of Sri Lanka and\nthe present President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka which is the sole\nrepresentative body of more than 19,000 Attorneys-at-Law in this Country. The\nBASL has always been concerned about matters of national importance, and\nmatters relating to the Rule of Law and administration of justice. It has been\nreported in the media that the Sri Lankan Government is due to enter into an\nAcquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA) with the United States of\nAmerica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Considering the national\nimportance of the said agreement  I request  you to make available a printed copy of the\nproposed Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA) by virtue of Section\n3(1) of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 read with Section 24 of the\nRight to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 and Article 14A of the Constitution of\nthe Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the backdrop of the ACSA, already signed and a SOFA deal\npending, security companies in the US are looking for personnel in Sri Lanka,\nsaid Sunday Times. Sallyport, a US firm offers a comprehensive range of global\nprotective, security and mission support solutions to the US Government,\nforeign allied governments, and a wide range of private and commercial clients.\n(Sunday Times 7.7.19)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a note to recognised Sri Lankan security companies, Sallyport  says: As a part of our Professional Services\ngroup at Michael Baker Global Services, a whole owned subsidiary of Caliburn\nInternational, the Cleared American Guard (CAG) is professionally trained to\nprotect the security integrity of the construction site and responsible for\nprotection of building materials, furniture, fixtures, and other items. CAGs\nwill perform access control functions at all vehicle and pedestrian entrances\nto the site on a 24\/7 basis throughout the construction or project period.\u201d\nSallyport has on offer jobs which are full time and hourly. Sallyport employees\nneed to be able to stand for 8 hours, work outdoors in all seasons and lift up\nto 25 pounds.   (\ncontinued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS ACQUISITION AND CROSS SERVICING AGREEMENT (ACSA) The United States made an abortive bid, in 2002, to finalize an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), formerly known as \u2018NATO Mutual Support Act\u2019, with Sri Lanka. The attempt was made after the Ceasefire Agreement was signed on Feb. 21. 2002. Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}