Military inflicts self-harm

In the wake of the escalating economic crisis there has been a spate of reports of police and military brutality across the island. The most recent incident was reported at a fuel station in Kurunegala where a senior Army officer was caught on camera assaulting a civilian. 

The video that went viral on social media showed a lieutenant colonel of the Army brutally assaulting a civilian who was held by two other solders. The initial response of the Army in the wake of the widespread condemnation can only be categorised as blatantly unprofessional, self-harming and severally embarrassing for both the military and the Government. 

The Army press release states that “a series of media reports including many social media blogs and video clips going viral, some of which are intentionally edited or projecting only one side or tail end of the dispute or extracted clips without properly projecting true ground realities have been observed by the Army where Army personnel are being humiliated or verbally abused while trying to assist proper distribution of fuel stocks.” The press release goes on to state that “the aggressive nature of the Army member was excessively prioritised in media in order to ridicule him without projecting the violent behaviour of the drunken civilian.” 

This is not some spokesman speaking off the cuff, but an official media release which one can reasonably assume was cleared by competent senior officers. It provides an insight into the mind-set of the military establishment in what they assume is their role and reach in civilian matters. It also shows a sheer lack of self-awareness of the laws of the land and due processes within a democracy. Even the attempt at justifying the brutal assault and insinuation that there are malicious attempts to humiliate the officer concerned rather than issuing an outright apology and an assurance of disciplinary action, speaks volumes of the immunity and impunity with which the military has operated for decades and continues to operate under the heavily militarised regime of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Sri Lankan military is on very thin ice when it comes to human rights and adherence to international humanitarian law. It has for years been accused of numerous human rights and humanitarian law violations. Since 1971 the military along with the police were responsible for over 100,000 extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The current Commander in Chief himself is accused of numerous crimes including the killing of journalists while the current Chief of Defence Staff, the senior most serving military officer, is under sanctions by the United States.

The agitated, angry and frustrated people of Sri Lanka do not pose some organised national security threat that needs to be dealt by the military. They are reacting to the economic disaster created by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration that has left generally law abiding citizens desperate and destitute. This anger and frustration cannot be quelled through guns and bullets nor by trying to infuse military discipline into fuel queues by brutish officers.

In fact, the anger of the general public has been exacerbated by the disproportionate and irrational prioritisation of the military during this time of crisis. Even during fuel scarcity, the military vehicles, which often are gas guzzling behemoths, have been given priority over other essential services including healthcare. The disproportionate military expenditure has also contributed to the current economic woes. Sri Lanka has the 17th largest military in the world and in its 2022 budget allocated the highest expenditure to the Ministry of Defence even at the cost of other sectors such as healthcare and education. 

No international partner is going to pump money into a militarised State that brutalises its people. As Sri Lanka seeks external finances to fix the broken economy, incidents like the one witnessed at Kurunegala and even worse official reaction to the incident is going to cause enormous reputational harm to the country. The wise option at this juncture is to restrain the military into barracks and allow the generals to serve the motherland by offering an opportunity to reduce the colossal military spending that has significantly contributed to crippling the economy.