By Philip Fernando, Former Deputy Editor, Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On Independence Day we recap the restoration of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty usurped by colonial powers. Our thoughts are on re-affirming the commitment to strengthen national sovereignty. That assertion should be premised on the question what should we be realistically afraid of? Identifying those determined to jeopardize our security and how best to annul plots of those crawling out of the woodwork to resurrect the vanquished foreign terrorist scourge are vital. The guns have been silenced yet threats and alignments aimed against us need to be heeded.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The remnant Tiger outfits posing as phony human rights watchdogs openly championing the same Eelam myth are making a charade of the West’s much flaunted proscription of terrorism. The security watch must be unwaveringly fastened. Sovereignty had to be heroically defended during a long secessionist war and that should never happen again.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In a multi-polar world where globalization and information technology dominate and threats to security abound such as waning Western powers seeking new alignments, demarcation of new State boundaries like in Sudan, climate degradation, fragile energy networks and resource competition, to name a few.

National interest and security

National interest is equated with national security and rightly so. That was demonstratively clear leading to the successful elimination of Tiger terrorism. We have an excellent counter-terrorism structure-the best in history thanks to what transferred during the successful war effort led by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We need to consolidate intelligence gathering and inject a greater sense of alertness in order to foretell monsters in the making like the LTTE eruption. Ominous signs of conspiracy must be nipped in the bud.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That said both local and foreign antagonists are discernible among those who audaciously predicted that we would lose the war against terror and worse, the propaganda war. Our victory had become a constant irritant to the naysayers. Those refusing to accept that buoyant political stability and economic vibes are engulfing the country today must be won over.

We need to broadcast country’s efforts to unify in a variety of ways relaying the new image of optimism. North and East resurgence is irrefutably occurring at a fast pace. Nearly 60 percent of the minorities co-exist with the majority community along with some of the kith and kin of the Tiger Diaspora. Yet those striving to go against the grain are flagrantly intractable and not amenable to persuasion.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We need to work with our friends no nation can work alone in order to silence the Eelamists turned secessionists, or any lethal combination of arms syndicates, international mafias, drug cartels and terrorist groups bent on eroding our newly won prowess towards greater achievements.

In-depth assessment

Independence Day calls for an in-depth assessment to deal with remnant notions regarding armed conflict-local and foreign. Wagons circling with flags, insignia and the vile rhetoric to boot feed their frenzy. WikiLeaks confirmed our fears that Western internationalists have yet to reconcile their cynical frown with the paradigm shift successfully achieved by Sri Lankans and their leaders. Puckered brows await our diplomats when they meet their Western counterparts.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For most Sri Lankans the memories of forced constitutional contrivances planted on them are still vividly real. No such externally injected amendments, revisions or adjustments are needed any more. Yet they keep on coming.

New operational alignments

Realigned international groups are the main operational building blocks of conspiracy now due to the waning influences Western powers in Asia. East Timor, Kosovo and South Sudan were begotten almost to precision.

The peace negotiators arriving in Sri Lanka in sheep’s clothing were also at work in Sudan simultaneously. The mindset prevalent in the country is that our strategy to nip in the bud all perceived threats to our sovereignty must prevail. That should become the corner stone of our foreign policy.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Humanitarian and catastrophe are two words that motivate the internationalist in a jiffy. They would be here in a frenzy screaming penalties, sanctions and war crimes witch-hunt. Vanishing Tiger hegemony at Nandikadal attracted a swarm of R2Pers. Their cherished Eelam puppet had surrounded himself with a ‘human shield.’ Rescuing him was imperative.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That attempt failed but the perpetrators waiting to intervene to take away our sovereignty are still at it. Threats ignored would become a pandemic. The new national security ethic must prevail. We owe it to ourselves.