Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 31 August (Asiantribune.com): A United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee report reveals that the Government of Eritrea is providing direct military assistance to Sri Lanka’s separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
The Senate report does not generalize that military assistance is coming from ‘Eritrea’ but authoritatively says ‘Government of Eritrea’ providing ‘direct military aid’ to the Sri Lankan rebels.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee came to this conclusion, among other wide-ranging conclusions and recommendations, after sending six of its staff attached to the Republican Party committee members last year to twenty countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America to do a study of American military assistance to combat terrorism, the State and Defense Department coordination in disbursing such assistance to foreign nations and the role of American ambassador presiding over such assistance.
This is the first occasion that an influential and powerful senate committee such as foreign relations has arrived at a conclusion when discussing the Tamil Tiger activities in Sri Lanka and the threat that it posses to this South Asian island-nation‘s territorial integrity, sovereignty and her near-six decade old democratic system in identifying a member nation of the United Nations providing military aid against another member of the same World Body which has a legitimate democratically elected government to facilitate a rebel group fighting for a separate state.
The then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Richard Lugar, now the Ranking Member of the same committee after the Democratic majority in the Senate took over the control of all committees of the Senate in January 2007, made the findings of his staff available for Congressional record on 15 December 2006 with copies to the White House, State and Defense Departments.
Following is the determination of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on the Asian Region in which Sri Lanka is mentioned:
“Asia’s desire to remain independent from great power manipulation is strong. Anti-Americanism has been tempered by widespread approval of the U.S. emergency response to the December, 2004 earthquake and tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in the region. The United States quickly combined civilian and military teams in what is reputed both within and outside government to be one of the most effective international disaster responses that the U.S. government, along with the rest of the international community, has ever mounted.
“The terrorist threat in Southeast Asia is significant. Threats against U.S. embassies and other U.S.-affiliated institutions are taken seriously. Terrorist plots against U.S. and Southeast Asian interests have been foiled, and police forces have identified, arrested and prosecuted dozens of terrorists. Terrorist activity in the region has killed and maimed many, Americans and non-Americans alike. Governments work at varying levels with the U.S. government and each other to share information and resources in combating what is ultimately viewed as a common enemy.
“In Sri Lanka, there are no direct threats to American interests, terrorist or otherwise. An escalating conflict, however, between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is now on the verge of outright civil war. Continual uncertainty and eruptions of violence are indirectly affecting Americans in the country, but Americans, as of this date, are not direct targets. As Sri Lanka is an island nation, anti-government insurgents primarily receive smuggled military arms and hardware via boat, from Indonesia, among other countries. The government of Eritrea reportedly provides direct assistance to the LTTE. (Emphasis mine)
Following is Senator Richard Lugar’s Letter of Transmittal in releasing the investigative findings for Congressional records, and for actions by the White House and Departments of State and Defense:
Embassies as Command Posts in the Anti-Terror Campaign
A Report to Members of the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate
Richard G. Lugar, Chairman
One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session December 15, 2006
Letter of Transmittal
December 15, 2006.
Dear Colleagues:
I recently sent 6 Senate Foreign Relations Committee majority staff members to some 20 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to examine the relationship between the State Department and the Defense Department in our embassies. I asked them to focus on the agencies’ cooperation on counterterrorism strategy, policies and activities, giving special attention to foreign assistance and the military’s new Section 1206 funding.
This report is only the first chapter of what I hope will become a continuing examination of ways in which our government can strengthen our posture overseas and better ensure our effectiveness against terrorism. The report points out both pitfalls and opportunities.
It makes clear the increasingly instrumental role that the U.S. ambassador plays in making judgment calls that will affect our success or our failure. There is no country in the world where our Nation can afford to send diplomats ill-prepared to understand and make the tough choices. Nor can we as a Congress continue to undervalue the role of the civilian agencies if we want to ensure that our response to violent extremism is calibrated, supported by an appropriate mix of civilian and military tools.
The report contains findings and recommendations that form the basis for continuing committee oversight that is alert to potential problems. It is overseas where the campaign against terror will be won or lost. As a country, we must have the right tools, people and programs to succeed.
Richard G. Lugar,
Chairman.
The primary objective of the investigation is spelled out in the report in this manner:
“Embassies are on the frontline in the overseas campaign against terror and demands on ambassadors, staffs, and physical facilities have increased exponentially. Since September 11, 2001, embassies have hosted a continuing influx of inter-agency personnel tasked with the full range of counterterrorism activities.
“Under the direction of Chairman Richard G. Lugar, Senate Foreign Relations Committee majority staff visited selected embassies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as the headquarters of four combatant commands, to focus specifically on the civilian/military nexus. He asked staff to assess whether the State and Defense Departments are working together overseas in a way that contributes to overarching U.S. foreign policy goals in the individual countries and in the regions.”
The above narration, and that of Senator Lugar’s Letter of Transmittal, clearly indicates the broad scope of the investigation and the regions that covered to arrive at conclusions and recommendations.
For the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to determine that the ‘Government of Eritrea’ is providing ‘direct’ military assistance to the separatist Tamil Tigers, also known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), its investigative team would have come up with hard evidence which are not incorporated in the full report but known only to the investigators and committee members. Unless the committee is satisfied with the data collected by its staff that traveled to four continents covering approximately twenty countries the final report wouldn’t have authoritatively mention that the “Government of Eritrea” is providing “direct military assistance” to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka.
What transpires out of this determination of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is for the Government of Sri Lanka to officially get an explanation from the committee to ascertain more details of the findings of the investigation which was authorized and executed by a congressional committee that covers relations between the United States and foreign nations, in this case with Sri Lanka. The conduit to the Foreign Relations Committee is the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the Department of State.
Since two member nations of the United Nations are involved the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission in New York could bring it up with the Office of the Secretary General as one of the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the democratic system are in question and grave danger.
Tamil Tigers have been militarily fighting the successive governments of Sri Lanka since 1983 to win a separate ethnic Tamil state in this South Asian nation’s northern and eastern provinces which the former is predominantly minority Tamil and the latter’s population is equally divided between the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities. The Tigers have accused the Sri Lankan state, largely controlled by the majority Sinhalese, of discriminating against the minority Tamils that comprise 12% of the nation’s 18 million population.
The current Rajapaksa administration militarily drove the Tamil Tigers out of the Eastern Province early this year, and approximately 54% of the Tamil minority is domiciled in Southern Provinces among the Sinhalese majority. The 2002 ceasefire agreement has now confined to the paper and no negotiations have taken place between the Tamil Tigers and the government in recent times despite international pressure. Several previous talks broke down when the Tigers unilaterally withdrew to resume military offensives. The Tamil Tigers collect most of the funds to buy arms from the Tamil Diaspora in Western nations, and they buy military hardware from some former Soviet republics and from unofficial arms dealers in Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia. No U.S. official documents have so far accused any government of providing military hardware to the LTTE except the mention of the Government of Eritrea in the 15 December 2006 report of the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee.
Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Until a UN resolution in 1952 united both countries Eritrea was a sovereign nation with distinct nationality to that of the Ethiopian. Since then, the Ethiopians and Eritreans have been engaged in military offensive until the latter’s independence endorsed by the United Nations.
The U.S. Foreign Relations Committee, in its investigative report, highlights the role of the American ambassador:
“Ambassadors should be charged with the decision whether to approve all military-related programs implemented in-country. That would include Section 1206 security assistance, humanitarian and development assistance, and other programs and operations.”
Some of these recommendations have been accepted by the State and Defense Departments. In fact, the American ambassador in a given country has the authority to recommend the level of military assistance, foreign military sales and the depth of the International Military Assistance and Training Program (IMET). When Appropriation Bills are ratified, the Senate and the House have the authority to recommend to the State Department to freeze military assistance to countries that do not maintain the international standards of human rights and humanitarian assistance work.
Sri Lanka was one of the countries year marked by the Bush White House last year for enhanced military assistance, and it is up to the diplomatic efforts of the Sri Lanka government to use her public diplomacy from the American ambassador to the officials of the State Department to justify the need for military assistance to combat the home grown terrorism that has threatened her territorial integrity, sovereignty and democracy.
Following is the letter from President Bush to Secretaries of State, Defense and Director OMB identifying the countries that need enhanced military assistance:
Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
May 5, 2006
Subject: Certain Programs to Build the Capacity of Foreign Military Forces and Related Reporting Requirements
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code and section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109 163), I direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct or support, within available appropriations, programs that comply with section 1206 for the following countries: Algeria, the Bahamas, Cameroon, Chad, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, and Yemen.
The function of the President under subsection (f) of section 1206 is assigned to the Secretary of State. In performing such function, the Secretary of State should consult with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to transmit, on my behalf, a copy of this memorandum to the Congress and to publish it in the Federal Register.
George W. Bush
Foreign Military Funding (FMF) enables the Sri Lankan military to purchase non-weapon items such as uniforms, flack vests, night vision goggles, and communications equipment. IMET helps to professionalize the Sri Lankan military, build the capabilities of its officers in combat against the LTTE and in global counterterrorism activities, and Enhance interoperability with U.S. forces.
On the subject of Renewal of authority for "Building of the Capacity of Foreign Military Forces", Section 1206 of the 2006 (US) Defense Authorization gave the Defense Department a new authority to provide military aid to foreign countries. The provision allowed regional combatant commanders (like Southern Command) to spend a worldwide total of $200 million on equipment, training and services for other nations' militaries - even though programs in the foreign aid budget already exist for this purpose. Among the countries chosen Sri Lanka was one as directed by President Bush.
Section 1206 of the Senate's version of the 2007 bill would continue this military-aid authority through 2008. The maximum amount would continue to be $200 million per year. No more than $50 million may be spent in one combatant command's region; since there are only five geographic combatant commands including Northern Command, it is likely that the Western Hemisphere would receive a full $50 million in military assistance through this new account in 2007 and 2008.
"The committee underscores that the authorities provided in this section are provided in the spirit of a pilot program," reads the Senate Armed Services Committee's report on the 2007 bill. "The committee intends to review carefully how these authorities are implemented so as to have a basis for determining whether and, if so, in what precise manner, to reauthorize these or provide other authorities after the conclusion of the pilot program. ... The committee strongly discourages further modifications to these authorities until a track record implementing the pilot program authorized in this section has been developed."
The full Senate has yet to consider its version of the 2007 bill. The House bill does not include any provision similar to Section 1206.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democratic Chairman of the Judiciary Committee who also heads the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Program, directed the State Department to freeze military aid to Sri Lanka in the Fiscal Year starting October 2007.
In the light of Senator Lugar chaired Foreign Relations Committee report of 15 December 2006 announcing that the Government of Eritrea is providing direct military assistance to Tamil Tigers it is imperative for Sri Lanka to step up its diplomatic efforts to reverse the trend to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and its six-decade preserved democratic system.
In fact, Sri Lanka is not a country that the United States needs to ‘export democracy’. It only needs to be made more vibrant.
- Asian Tribune -
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