Military Public Diplomacy

by Dr Sarala Fernando-March 16, 2019, 7:14 pm 

At this time when the Human Rights Council in Geneva is focusing on the implementation of res.30/1 and politicians are stirring up a huge controversy at home over transitional justice issues, how can we find a sustainable approach to the dilemma? On the one hand, the majority public gratitude towards our war heroes who brought the armed conflict to an end at considerable self sacrifice and on the other hand individual cries for justice over missing family members who need to be heard. At home, we are on the right path, using local expertise to strengthen the human rights protection system, to set up special institutions like the Missing Persons office and the Reparations office which is in the offing. However the military will also have to build its internal capacity to arrest and try their own offenders according to internationally accepted military standards. The adverse publicity over one individual’s behaviour (viz the Defence Attache in London) has shown how new complications have been created for outgoing Defence personnel who must now be advised how to handle the renewed public scrutiny when representing the country abroad.

This article argues that pieces of information now scattered must be better organized with regard to the humanitarian activities of the military in the post-war period which are breaking new ground and represent an example of public diplomacy where they are creating new partnerships. A decade has passed since the armed conflict was brought to an end by military means and yet we know little about military humanitarian activities during the post-war era. I do not refer to the natural disaster related events spurred by climate change such as the increasingly severe droughts, floods and earth slips, in which the role of the military has become indispensable and is well recognized by the people . I refer instead to the post-conflict humanitarian activities, sometimes called "hearts and minds", carried out by the military, which historically have taken two different routes. The initial infrastructure-building activities soon after the conflict ended like rebuilding roads, bridges, houses under government direction have received most publicity. Less is known about the subsequent military humanitarian activities involving people to people relationships which have gone quite far in the recent years.

Take for example how Northern politicians are always clamouring for the release of lands held by the Army in the North, but few give credit to the Army for its role in de-mining these areas where the LTTE had scattered explosives indiscriminately. Although several NGOs are also receiving considerable foreign assistance for this purpose, over 80% of the work has been undertaken by the Army. The returning people however are well aware of this work and appreciate what the Army has accomplished. In the larger picture, this important work of the Army has enabled Sri Lanka to join the Ottawa Convention and target making the country mine-free by 2020, a huge boost internationally. Facts and figures were laid out recently by a Tamil Secretary to the relevant Ministry, noting that initially the suspected hazardous area stretched over 1,302 sq km in the North and East and some 1,277 sq.km had been released for safe settlement enabling the resettlement of some 258,000 families.

Most recently, the Army is moving out of most of the farms it had set up in the North. However the picture provided from interviews with the local people is that they regret this move, as it seems the army has provided a steady source of income and security, enabling the building of strong personal relationships. Army engineers have constructed or repaired hundreds of houses, roads and schools on their own initiatives. Some time ago there was a TV clip of a military commander transferred to another location surrounded by weeping villagers, young and old, men and women, who were evidently appreciative of his leadership in enabling them to rebuild their lives. Is a new picture emerging of the military commander as "shepherd of the flock"? While at the national level our politicians are unable to find consensus on vital issues, the army seems to have given a free hand to their district level commanders to do what they feel necessary to build robust relationships with the people.

Could we draw some lessons from these successful peace-building stories? One feature is that they appear to be spontaneous, good results derived from personal leadership and not proceeding according to any programme or prepared guidance. It seems to depend on the military commanders having the ability to quickly deploy resources, people, material and finances towards completion of a local level felt need and agreed task unlike the provincial authorities which are paralyzed by various political and administrative struggles. There would also be a psychological benefit bringing together those who had to make war with those civilians who had to bear the brunt of the conflict and disruption to their lives. In East Africa lessons were learned that it is possible for human beings to find solace by turning their lives around– there, some of the worst hunters went on, post-independence, to become respected game wardens.

From scattered news reports it appears that military commanders in the North are encouraged to engage in charitable work identifying an area of work of their choice - education, health, livelihood support etc. One has to read between the lines of news reports to learn of such civil-military cooperation, which is not publicized by the army. For example an organization in the South reported recently of the assistance received from the Wanni commander involving a project to provide shoes to school going children in that area. That commander had chosen to support primary school education setting up schools and needed facilities in the area under his jurisdiction. Other reports mention that thousands of coconut seedlings and other agricultural products have been distributed among the people to encourage farming and a scholarship scheme for students has been implemented recently on the initiative of the army without using public funds. Recently livelihood training in the Killinochchi area made the TV news with special emphasis on encouraging women to take up small business opportunities. A distinct feature of this type of cooperative activity is that the Army and the people are in a direct relationship without the usual intermediaries, politicians, bureaucrats or NGOs. Incidentally those intermediaries are the most critical of military efforts but does their criticism have the backing of the people?

Now a decade after the armed conflict was ended, the military and the civilians appear to be building new relationships on the ground, based on mutual understanding and helping hands. Our authorities would do well to get some recognized independent study of these new relationships, learning from the good as well as the negative experiences of this humanitarian work which would be quite useful to present with our reporting obligations to the HRC in Geneva. The Army presence in the conflict- affected areas is not as negative as some would have us believe.

(The writer is a retired member of the Sri Lanka Overseas Service who served as ambassador to Sweden and Thailand)