Joint measures to combat common threats needed - Defence Secretary

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said joint measures have to be taken to mitigate and address common threats and issues faced by countries in the Bay of Bengal and it is very important that all nations remain vigilant and proactive with regard to these threats.

The Defence Secretary said most of the countries in the Bay of Bengal region have addressed certain issues to some extent, such as, the threats of terrorism, terrorist financing, illegal migration of persons and trafficking of drugs and other illegal substances which still remain significant.

He was delivering the keynote address at the commencement of the Sixth Meeting of the BIMSTEC Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime in Colombo yesterday.

“The subjects discussed at this meeting are particularly important in the present day context of an increasingly globalised world. The most important tool that nations have at their disposal in countering these threats is Intelligence. For Intelligence to be more effective, however, it needs to be shared amongst nations.

“In one form or another, one or a combination of these issues has affected each of the countries represented here. Sri Lanka itself suffered from three long decades of terrorism, which we successfully overcame four years ago, and we have also experienced the problems caused by drug smuggling and human trafficking from time to time,” the Defence Secretary noted.

He further said it is also very important to realise that a few of the serious threats that nations face in today’s environment are truly localised. Terrorism, human trafficking, narcotic drug smuggling and the illegal financial transactions that support all these activities are not confined to one nation but take place within several nations and across national borders. For instance, when the LTTE was engaging in ruthless terrorism activities in Sri Lanka, it raised funds abroad and used agents in various parts of the world to smuggle arms, ammunition and heavy weaponry to Sri Lanka through the sea. Even after the end of the war, the rump of the LTTE organisation is still engaged in raising funds and trying to regroup in order to destabilise Sri Lanka through various means. These elements have even gone to the extent of providing arms training abroad to LTTE cadres in recent times.

“It is important to realise that because of the freedoms we enjoy, and the relaxation of our immigration laws and procedures for tourism promotion and trade purposes, terrorists and other criminals have the opportunity to use any of the countries in this region as meeting places, transit points or even temporary bases from which to initiate their activities. On occasion, we have seen instances where drug dealers have escaped law enforcement agencies by moving into other countries and staying in these countries illegally, using them as safe havens,” he added.

He said that human trafficking across borders is another increasing problem for the region. Primarily, due to economic reasons, large numbers of people seek to flee their nations of origin and migrate illegally into developed countries such as Australia, Canada and Europe. This has become a lucrative business for people smugglers, some of whom also have links to international terrorism as well as drug trafficking.

“Most of the time, the victims of these human traffickers find themselves in very serious trouble. Having sold or mortgaged their properties and given over their complete wealth to the smugglers, they find themselves in terrible conditions, trapped on board unsafe vessels along with hundreds of illegal migrants. Sometimes, these boats get into serious difficulties, threatening the lives of all on board. Occasionally, such illegal migrants are rescued or intercepted by the Navies or Coast Guards of other nations.

“These nations then face the problem of accommodating the illegal migrants, sometimes without proper mechanisms to repatriate them. Even on occasions when illegal migrants arrive at their destination without mishap, they are not assured of being granted refugee status. Ultimately, they may end up staying in difficult conditions within temporary camps for a very long time, until they are finally deported to their places of origin,” Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said .

“Moreover, the Defence Secretary highlighted the need of having a greater information sharing amongst the relevant agencies, including the establishment of a regionally shared database on the vessels used in people smuggling as well as other important data, will be essential in mitigating this problem.

“All illegal activities mentioned so far share a common feature in that they are often facilitated or at least accompanied by illegal financial transactions that take place through formal or informal channels. During the conflict, the LTTE collected vast sums of money in various countries around the world and transferred these funds to Sri Lanka through various legal and illegal channels. Tracking these transfers, particularly when they happened through informal channels, was a very difficult exercise.

Having a proper understanding between the Financial Intelligence Units, Intelligence Agencies, Law Enforcement Agencies within the region is therefore extremely important in tracking illegal financial transactions and in identifying and apprehending the culprits involved,” he said.

“Particularly in today’s globalised context, the full potential of regional organisations, such as, BIMSTEC to enhance technical and security cooperation must be exploited by member nations.

“Although there are international agencies that are engaged in these activities, our experience has shown that bilateral and regional cooperation amongst the intelligence and law enforcement institutions of our nations has produced superior results. It is ultimately the cooperation, mutual assistance and cordial relationships within the region that will help nations in the region achieve their goals,” the Defence Secretary said.