Army needs to know its business

Thursday, 16 February 2023 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A 25-year-old woman was killed in a shooting at Wanathamulla in Borella. The Police say that two Army personnel were arrested over the killing. It is reported that the Army personnel were in the area to extract information relating to drug trafficking when a weapon had discharged killing the young woman.

The other news item that came out this week was supposed to be more of a sunshine story of how Army-managed island-wide farms are currently engaged in collecting the Maha season’s paddy harvest and seasonal vegetables after they were cultivated to “support the government’s food security programme.”

Despite over 13 years having passed since the end of the war, Sri Lanka has hardly enacted the necessary policies to reform the security sector. Part of this failure is the inability to define the role and parameters of the military establishment within a democratic framework. The military’s role of defence and the Police’s role of ensuring law and order seems to be blurred within the current security establishment. Whether it is controlling protesters or dealing with drug traffickers the military is best kept out of roles meant to be handled by the Police. The Army which is not trained or equipped to handle such roles will only lead to tragedies such as the killing of a young woman at Borella this week.

The high defence budget, constituting over 2% of GDP comes when the country’s Armed Forces are not fighting any external or internal war. In the current context the military is far too big for its size and population and it has a military that is ill-suited to meet the new strategic needs. Especially in a time of economic crisis it is vital to assess the role of the military in economic matters. In the last few years since the end of the conflict the military has taken over numerous roles that have in fact stifled growth of the private sector. According to the website of the Sri Lanka Army, the Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) is currently engaged in a “multitude of country-wide agro-livestock projects of different magnitude.” The Army says that the DAL comprises 76 officers and 1,675 other ranks. According to the Army, 8,500 acres of State and military land are currently cultivated by the Army with paddy, mango, coconut, vegetables, sesame seeds, corn and turmeric. The DAL claims it has expanded to the poultry and livestock industry as well.

By inserting itself into tourism, agriculture, civil engineering, transport, aviation and other areas that should be within the purview of the private sector the military has become a hindrance to economic growth. As a publicly subsidised institution the military is well capable of undercutting any individual or private enterprise. While the military cultivating state lands may seem like a bright idea, basic economics will ensure that such short-sighted ventures would lead to economic crises of the likes Sri Lanka is currently facing.

As Sri Lanka embarks on this difficult economic recovery it must rein in on military expenditure and address the more dire needs of a suffering population. The least the military can do is to know its actual business and stay out of things that are not in its purview. That would be the greatest service the military could do for the country at this time.