{"id":98074,"date":"2020-01-21T17:01:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T00:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=98074"},"modified":"2020-02-09T17:20:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T00:20:16","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-13b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/01\/21\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-13b\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 13B"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

(Revised\n22.1.20, 9.2.20)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s\narmed forces were praised and admired for their work, long before the Eelam\nvictory of 2009. The US Pacific Command team which evaluated the Sri Lanka army\nin 2002 said the soldiers were well motivated and were confident as a\nteam.  They were well trained, knew their\nweapons, and were proficient in the skills expected of them. \u2018Maneuvers in\nclose proximity to automatic weapons fire were rapid,\u2019 they noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers had\na good understanding of LTTE warfare and knew how to defeat the LTTE. They had maintained a fighting spirit amidst\ntremendous hardships and it was this spirit that had prevented more drastic\ndefeats.  The army would have succeeded\nbetter if the entire system were committed to that end, they concluded.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deputy\nhead of the Naval Monitoring team of the SLMM, Lars Bleymann was on board\nPearl Cruiser II\u201d when it was attacked by the LTTE in 2006. He wrote to the\nNavy high command   thanking the navy,\nfrom the bottom of his heart, for saving his life. He said that the officer in\ncharge and his crew behaved in exemplary manner. The OIC was calm, collected,\nnever wavered, and never lost coolness.  \nHis crew carried out his orders. They are a credit to the navy and the\nSri Lanka Navy is in very good shape, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On another\noccasion, the head of the International Committee of Red Cross had written to\nRajiva Wijesinha \u2018Your men either at sea or on land, carried out their tasks in\nan exemplary manner. Whether it be to protect the state and its citizens or the\ncare of the sick and wounded they displayed a strict discipline and respect for\nrules of engagement and at the same time a very respectful and kind attitude to\nhelp those in need.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world watched with interest as Sri Lanka\ndefeated the LTTE in Eelam War IV. Wall Street Journa<\/em>l announced \u2018for all\nthose who argue there no military solution for terrorism, we have two words:\nSri Lanka\u2019.  Washington Times<\/em> editorial of 25.4.2009\nsaid \u2018Sri Lankans are winning; we should let them finish the job. Obama\nadministration should mind its own business.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Eelam War IV victory, the Sri Lanka\nmilitary forces received much praise and recognition. In 2010, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Commander, Security forces\nheadquarters, Jaffna, was awarded the Gusi Peace Prize, Manila. In 2011, Indian Military academy\nat   Dehra Dun, India\u2019s most prestigious\nmilitary school honored the Sri Lanka Army by inviting its commander, General\nJagath Jaysuriya as chief guest of the passing out parade. This is the first\never Sri Lanka Army Commander to have been invited to the occasion as Chief\nGuest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka was unanimously granted Dialogue\nPartner status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in June 2009 .This is\nan important regional group, which pays special attention to terrorism and\nsecurity. Its members then were China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,\nTajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Dialogue Partner status is given to a state which\nshares its objectives and wishes to establish a partnership with the\nOrganization. There was only one dialogue partner, Afghanistan, before the\ninclusion of Sri Lanka and Belarus. India, Pakistan, Mongolia and Iran have\nobserver status. USA\u2019s request for observer status was rejected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sri\nLanka armed forces found that other countries wanted to learn the military techniques\nperfected by the Sri Lanka army. The \u2018Joint war gaming centre\u2019 at the Defence\nServices Command and Staff College, Sapugaskanda held annual training courses.\nIn the 2014 course there were 101 middle grade officers from Sri Lanka and 16\nfrom Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan\nRwanda, Senegal, and Vietnam. The newspapers showed a photograph of the group\nexamining a large map of Vanni west and Gulf of Mannar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Sri Lanka army\u2019s field training exercise,\n\u2018Cormorant strike\u2019 was started in 2000 and had been held each year thereafter.\nThis is a mock field training exercise designed for joint special operations\nworking as one team. The <\/em>purpose was\nto share the skills the Sri Lanka army had acquired in the May 2009 operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Strike was conducted at Kokilai in\n2015. This was a mega exercise with commandos and Special Forces of the army,\n245 sailors, and 140 airmen. There were 53 foreign participants and observers\nfrom Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, and USA.\nIn 2017, Cormorant Strike VIII was held at Infantry Training Centre, Minneriya.\nIt had 69 foreign participants from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India,\nIndonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Oman,\nPakistan, Russia, Sudan, Turkey, and USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, Yahapalana government had suggested that the\nDefense seminar be held every other year. Sri Lanka army did not agree. We\ninsisted that it should continue as an annual event. The Navy holds its own\nGalle symposium annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cormorant\nstrike IX 2018 was held at Minneriya. The army said\nthat there was a definite increase in participation with Middle East and Africa\njoining.    China,\nIndia Pakistan Bangladesh, turkey Indonesia Nigeria Nepal Sudan and Zambia were\namong the counties participating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are\ngaining a name for having a strong armed force. We are considered for a\nformidable force, said Mahesh Senanayake, Army Commander.  Every year the foreign interest in Cormorant\nstrike increases.  Foreign countries now\ninsist that we hold this event. The top brass always send representatives if\nthey cannot attend.  These representatives\ns are officers who will become army leaders eventually.  We see this when we see the names,\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cormorant Strike 2019\nwas held at Kuchchaveli with 85 countries participating. . Mission oriented\ntraining was conducted for foreign participants by Commando and Special Forces\nunder their respective Brigade Commanders. The exercise concluded with a\nspectacular mock operation on the Kuchchaveli beach, simulating a scenario\nwhere Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force\nattack on an insurgent base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A six-member\nhigh-level delegation of the Nigerian Army came in 2019, to study the comprehensive\ntraining modules of the Special Forces (SF). They were shown mock urban terrain\noperations, combat rider firing skills, close quarter combat training sessions,\ndrill and combat shooting demonstrations, ongoing squadron training modules,\ncamouflage and concealment demonstrations, and presentations, submitted by the\nOfficers at the SFTS . They wanted to know more about the exceptional jungle\nwarfare techniques and skills of the SF. They also discussed training for\nNigerian soldiers. Two Nigerian Officers are already under training in Sri\nLanka following, the Junior Command Course and the SF training in Maduru\nOya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka Navy\nsaid it was more than happy to share its hard-earned asymmetric warfare\nexperience with military counterparts across the oceans. Sri Lanka navy\norganizes the \u2018Galle dialogues\u2019, an annual maritime conference on safety in\nIndian Ocean region. At the first conference in 2010 only 11 countries had\ncome. There were 35 participants in 2013 \nand 42 in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5th\nAsymmetric Warfare Course of the Sri Lanka Navy, was conducted in 2017, the\ncourse was attended by 20 foreign military personnel from Bangladesh, China,\nIndia, Maldives, Netherlands, Nigeria and Pakistan. Galle Dialogue 2019 had\nover 150 participants from 55 countries, heads of 12 international agencies and\n3 defence industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The three-month course comprised a wide range\nof Asymmetric Warfare related affairs viz. weapons training, combat shooting,\nsmall group operations, jungle warfare, clandestine maritime operations, small\nboat operations, field training exercises, survival at sea etc. The Special\nBoat Squadron, the elite force of the Sri Lanka Navy facilitated the\nproceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Colombo Naval\nExercise (CONEX) organized by the Sri Lanka Navy  with the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF)\n, started in 2019 as an\nannual exercise of the seagoing force. CONEX  has two\nphases – Harbour and Sea in which a wide range of naval exercises including\npassage through mined waters, Replenishment at Sea (RAS) approaches, Towing\nExercises (TOWEX) and Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) exercises are undertaken. The Offshore Patrol Vessels and Fast Attack Craft\nof the Navy as well as MI 17 and Bell 412 helicopters of the Sri Lanka Air\nForce participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sri Lanka Air\nForce has conducted Colombo Air symposium from 2015. The symposium is\norganized by the Sri Lanka Air Force on an annual basis with the objective of\ndeveloping a wider perspective on global air power, and increasing cooperation,\nunderstanding, and goodwill among the represented nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombo Air Symposium 2017 was on the theme\n\u2018Air Power in Addressing Asymmetric Threats,\u2019 Colombo Air Symposium 2019 had participants from\nover 25 countries. The theme was\u201d A small Air Force: Way forward in achieving\nfuture vision\u201d. The symposium created a forum for small air forces such as Sri\nLanka Air Force to share experiences and to explore future challenges and\npossibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government started\na website, “Defence.lk\u201d in order to obtain public support for the war.\nThis website was a great success. It became the most visited Sri Lanka website,\nwith a daily average\nof 8 to 13 million hits. It provided hourly updates on the progress of the war.  \u2018Defence.lk\u201d was the subject of a MBA research project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The armed forces had to innovate if they\nwished to win the war. In 1983 Sri Lanka had created a Special Task Force (STF)\nof hand picked police officers with para military training.  STF is the only paramilitary organization in\nthe world which   has police powers. STF\nofficers were trained \u2018jungle warfare techniques\u2019 and handling infantry\nweapons. They were given special training in counter insurgency and counter\nterrorist operations. They could combat terrorism and insurgency with minimum\ncasualties. The STF operated in teams of eight or less and could fight in a\nvariety of situations such as built up areas, and close quarter battle.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The STF was effective in Eelam war IV and the\nLTTE assassinated the head of its training school in order to halt its operations.  STF was mainly deployed in the eastern\ntheatre. It destroyed 24 LTTE bases in Kanchikudichchi Aru jungle while the\narmy went into Thoppigala. .This combined campaign continued till Thoppigala\nfell in 2007. In 2009, STF went after the LTTE in Yala and then took over the\nA9 road from Omanthai to Kanagarayakulam via Pulyankulam.  STF also protected the Sinhala villages\naround Kebethigollawa.  STF has been\nrecognized internationally. It has trained military teams from Maldives and\nIndia.  It was one of the few agencies\ninvited for security assessment duties at the Olympics at Beijing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The\nmain tactic used by the LTTE at sea was the \u2018swarm attack\u2019   of 20-25 boats with 5-6 suicide craft and\nsophisticated equipment. Each boat had about 15 persons, with each combatant\ndonned in helmet, body amour and carrying a personal weapon. Swarms were used\nto attack isolated naval craft, to escort LTTE craft coming from deep sea\ncarrying ammunitions, and also terrorists moving along the coastline. To\ncounter this, the Navy decided to create its own \u2018swarm\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>Navy engineers designed three\ntypes of small, high-speed, heavily armed inshore patrol craft, suitable for\noperations in different types of sea (Wave Rider) .These boats were built at\nWelisara where there were rudimentary facilities for boat building. 150 boats\nwere manufactured in three years .It took just 8 days to complete and fully\nequip a single craft.  We manufactured\nthese boats through day and night because we needed them quickly .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 They manufactured more than one hundred 23\nfeet long, fibre glass \u2018Arrow\u2019 boats, powered by Japanese 200 horsepower\noutboard motors. \u2018Arrow\u2019   was very\neffective in shallow waters where Dvora could not go. There was also a 17 meter\nlong command-cum- fighting boat. All boats were manned by highly trained\nsailors   from elite units, such as the\nSpecial Boat Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007 the\nnavy was able to launch a flotilla of Arrow\u201d boats which outnumbered the LTTE\nboats. When LTTE launched 20 boats, the navy launched 40. It was \u2018swarm against\nswarm\u2019. The boats operated in groups of four. Squadrons consisting of 25-30\ncraft were kept at strategically important locations  Squadrons could be shifted from place to\nplace in a very short time. They were combined when necessary and about 60 boats\nwere   available for some battles. These\nboats used infantry tactics. They went in arrowhead formation or in three\nadjacent columns in single file so as to mask their numbers and increase the\nnavy\u2019s element of surprise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s\n\u2018Small Boats project\u2019 was given an unprecedented 6 page write up in the\nprestigious \u2018Jane’s Navy International\u201d<\/em>\nin March 2009.<\/em> Jane\u2019s International\u2019s<\/em> maritime reporterTim Fish noted that the western media had completely ignored this\nproject.  He said that other navies\nshould study the Sri Lanka Navy\u2019s modus operandi, in particular its strategies\nfor defeating a four-dimensional insurgent group, operating on land, air,   surface of the seas and underwater.In 2017, Nigeria bought\n06\nArrow Boats and 03 Inshore Patrol Craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy also created On Board Security Teams\n(OBST). These were deployed on merchant ships to provide security when the\nships transited through dangerous waters. These well trained teams were an\neffective deterrent against terrorist attack. \nNavy authorities said these teams could be used to combat modern day\npiracy.  Sri Lanka\u2019s Permanent\nRepresentative, Palitha Kohona in 2010 pointed out to the UN Security Council,\nthat the dense shipping lanes south of Sri Lanka had been free of any piracy in\nthe past 28 years, despite heavy traffic. This was due to the On Board Security\nTeams.  They were a visible deterrent,\nthey could react immediately to attacks. He said Sri Lanka was ready to share\nits expertise and personnel regarding the OBST with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\nElectrical and Mechanical Engineers) production facility (SLEME)  is able to design and develop in-house the\nnecessary protected vehicles for military requirements,. SLEME began developing local armored\nvehicles in 1983. The first vehicle based on a commercially available TATA\n5-ton truck chassis  was named \u2018Yaka\u2019. SLEME had supplied the armed forces and\npolice with over 300 armoured and mine-protected vehicles during the Eelam war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest\nin  this long line of locally fabricated\narmoured vehicles developed by SLEME is the new MPV is a 6\u00d76 wheeled armoured\nvehicle, called \u2018Avalon\u2019. It seats 12 troops and a crew of 2, and can mount a\nrange of weapons as per mission requirements. The MPV is built on a rugged,\ncommercially-available chassis which will enable high operational availability\nand cost effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is designed to\nhave significantly better survivability characteristics than the current fleet\nof armoured vehicles in service. It comes with enhanced protection against\nanti-tank mines, IEDs, small arms fire, and offers greater payload carrying\ncapacity, mobility and endurance, which are needed for the  long range convoy duties which Sri Lankan\npeacekeepers perform.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first batch\nis due to roll out by the end of June and have been earmarked to be sent to the\nPeacekeeping Mission in Mali,\u201d said the army in February 2019. Each Avalon is\nestimated to cost Rs21 million, which the army claimed was 1\/3 the cost of a\nsimilar vehicle of foreign make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In 2019 SLEME is  also refurbishing nine \u2018Unibuffel MK II\u2019 MPVs\nwith new locally-designed blast shock absorption seats and better protection as\nan urgent operational requirement for Peacekeeping duties. The seats had been\nidentified as an urgent requirement in-order to prevent life threatening spinal\ninjuries that occupants face when an MPV is caught in a landmine or IED blast.\nThe locally made seat was developed with assistance from the Moratuwa\nUniversity. ( continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS (Revised 22.1.20, 9.2.20) Sri Lanka\u2019s armed forces were praised and admired for their work, long before the Eelam victory of 2009. The US Pacific Command team which evaluated the Sri Lanka army in 2002 said the soldiers were well motivated and were confident as a team.  They were well trained, knew their weapons, […]<\/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-98074","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\/98074","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=98074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}