FM highlights threat of terrorism to democracy at Bali Democracy Forum

(December 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogallagama has highlighted the potent and ominous challenge that many democracies face today, emanating from the threat of terrorism. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua,Bali today(10 December 2008).The Bali Democracy Forum, an initiative of the Indonesian government, which brought together high level delegations from 33 countries in Asia to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the 2 day meeting was inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and co-chaired by the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd .The Sultan of Brunei and the Prime Minister of Timor L'Este were also in attendance.

Minister Bogollagama spoke of Sri Lanka's deeply rooted democratic tradition, which he traced to the granting of universal adult franchise in 1931 and said that the trappings of democracy, manifested by the right of the people to go to the polls periodically and elect a government of their choice or in the many magnificent edifices housing the seat of Parliament, the Presidency or the Palaces of justice, do not qualify a country to be a true democratic state. Real democracy becomes alive in a state where the government is accountable to the people and where the rule of law is upheld by a fearless and independent judiciary.

Speaking further, the Foreign Minister drew the attention of the assembled august gathering to the similarity of the methods employed by the LTTE and the terrorists who had staged the multiple attacks on Mumbai last month and said that the fact that these attacks were committed by terrorists getting in from the Arabian Sea aboard a hijacked vessel, underscored the need for the international community to beef up maritime security. He recalled his address to the Shangri-La Forum in June 2007,where he had pointed out the Al Qaeda suicide attack on 'USS Cole' in October 2000,as a copycat of the LTTE's attack on a Sri lankan naval vessel 'Abheetha' in 1991,which had been even acknowledged by the Sea Tigers chief, Soosai.

The Minister went on to brief his audience on the high priority that the Sri Lankan Government attaches to the observance of human rights and respect for the rule of law, even as it engages in military operations to clear the last remaining pockets in the North of the LTTE terrorists, which would enable the people there ,who have had to endure two decades of despotic reign of terror by the LTTE, to once again breathe the air of freedom and enjoy the fruits of democracy, which the rest of the people in the country took for granted.

Calling for greater international co-operation to tackle terrorism, Minister Bogollagama quoted a statement of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in this regard, where he had said,” Together with international unity and resolve ,we can meet and work to bring about an international law of zero tolerance for terrorism”. The Minister emphasized that terrorism spells the death knell for democracy and that terrorism anywhere is a threat to human civilization everywhere.

The Foreign Minister concluded his address by expressing the hope that the clarion call emanating from the Bali Democracy Forum would be a beacon of hope for the peoples of the Asian region, whether they belonged to long established democracies like Sri Lanka,or others which have just begun to take the first tentative steps into the unchartered brave new world of democracy.

Minister Bogollgama's speech was highly commended by Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd,who co-chaired the session with the Indonesian President. He thanked the Minister for reminding the audience of the serious threat posed by terrorism to democracy and democratic institutions, as well as the need to uphold human rights, even when taking measures to combat terrorism.

Full text of the speech of Rohitha Bogollagama, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Bali Democracy Forum, Indonesia on 10th December 2008

I am delighted to be present here today in this beautiful island resort of Bali, at the launch of the Bali Democracy Forum, a commendable initiative of the Indonesian Government, ably supported by the Australian Government. I believe this is both timely and relevant in the world today, where democracy has become universally accepted as the most efficacious and desirable system of governance.

As Sir Winston Churchill speaking in the British Parliament in November 1947 remarked in his inimitable style, and I quote “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those forms of government that have been tried from time to time.” Unquote.

While many States today may be democratic, the history of their political institutions reveals the fragility and vulnerability of democratic arrangements. The history of 20th century Europe alone makes clear that democracy is quite a difficult form of government to create and sustain – Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism came very close to eliminating democracy altogether. Democracy means a form of government where, in contrast to monarchies and aristocracies, the people ruled.

Electoral democracy has emerged as a universal value as the peoples of the world aspire their governments to be accountable and capable of being voted out of office. Some people may still wish for their countries to remain as monarchies for historical and cultural reasons, but even they will want the Royal families to share power with democratically elected parliaments. Recognizing these fundamental values, democracy offers a system of government rooted in the reality of the human condition as well as human aspirations.

Democracy cannot be denied to the peoples of the world on the basis that it is a Western concept. If it is a Western value, so be it. A little known fact is that in Sri Lanka, the seeds of its present day vibrant multi-party democracy were sown long before its independence from the British in 1948. Sri Lanka’s deeply rooted democratic tradition can be traced to the granting of universal adult franchise in 1931, just 14 years after the people in the United States were granted this right. Thus, Sri Lanka became the first country in Asia to enjoy this right to vote without discrimination of race, gender, educational or property qualifications.

In any event, the assertion that the democratic values that we take for granted today are derived from Western culture is actually flawed. The right to vote without discrimination on the basis of race or gender is accepted by all as a universal value. But this has not always been so in liberal Western democracies even half a century ago. For example, women in America did not get the right to vote until 1920, while Swiss women were able to do so only in 1971. Sri Lanka blazed the trail in producing the world’s first woman Prime Minister, with the election of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1960.

African American citizens got full voting rights only after the peaceful agitation for civil rights led by Martin Luther King in the 1960s. Today the American people can be proud to have elected their first African American President-Barack Obama. Racial equality has emerged from the struggle of the down trodden people against slavery, segregation, apartheid and discrimination, all of which had been practiced widely by Western societies not too long ago.

Just as much as the doctrine of separation of powers is steeped in antiquity, so is the rule of law deeply rooted in ancient natural law thought. The appeal to law as a check over abuse of power has been apparent since the times of the Greek civilization. Aristotle in his seminal work, “The Politics” remarked, “The rule of law is preferable to that of any individual”. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations, whose diamond jubilee which co-incidentally falls today (10th December), declared “It is essential, if man is not compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”.

The mere trappings of democracy as manifested in the right of the people to go to the polls periodically and elect a government of their choice or in the many magnificent edifices housing the seat of Parliament, the Presidency or the Palaces of Justice, do not qualify a country to be a true democratic state. Real democracy becomes alive in a state where the government is accountable to the people and where the rule of law is upheld by an independent and fearless judiciary. To this, I would also add the existence of a free and independent media, as a watchdog of the public interest, to report and expose corruption in high places, as well as performing the useful role of providing wholesome information of educational, cultural and current interest to the general public.

It therefore goes without saying that persons holding public office in the three branches of government, whether they be from the executive, legislature or judiciary, should be men and women of the highest probity and personal integrity, and would treat their office as a public trust and not as their personal fiefdom. Such a society would be a functioning democracy; it is not an ideal or utopian goal, but one which can be practically achieved if the necessary political will and broad public support exists for the creation of such a society. Once these essential ingredients are present, it would be possible to harness the resources available to work towards the establishment of a democratic society. This would entail resources to be invested in capacity building of the three branches of the state, as well as educating the people of their rights and duties in a democratic state.

Thus, the existence of a thriving democracy would be indicated by the institutional strengths of its executive, legislature and judiciary, as well as the presence of a free and independent media. In more recent times, we have also seen the increasing influence of the civil society in fashioning policies of democratic governments.

In newly emergent democracies, there is a certain weakness that is apparent in these pillars of the state, which can be attributed to a deficiency in capacity building in these areas. Hence, it is incumbent upon long established and mature democracies to lend their support to help the new and fragile democracies to set up and develop the institutional mechanisms of a modern democratic state. In this respect, Sri Lanka can share its own rich experience gained over 75 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, with other members of the Bali Democracy Forum. We would consider such an opportunity as a means of drawing the best practices out of each other’s experience and not to try to impose our values and system on another country, in an imperialistic sort of way.

As Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, it would be frivolous for me to confine myself at this august gathering to merely an academic exposition of the virtues of democracy and its institutional strengths, which none will dispute. I am more concerned with the challenges that democracy faces in the contemporary world. Long established democracies like Sri Lanka and India are confronted by several challenges that threaten the very foundations of the democratic institutions. For developing nations, these challenges such as poverty, unemployment and social inequality are long term issues which are being addressed by the respective governments in their development agenda through the implementation of pro-poor policy initiatives. However, the most potent and ominous challenge that many of our democracies face today is that emanating from the threat of terrorism.

Terrorism is by no means a new phenomenon. It has existed in some form or other since the dawn of human civilization. But, what is new today is that terrorism in the last three decades or so has acquired an international dimension that has brought with it, novel and sophisticated concepts and methods, which makes it a highly sinister and deadly phenomenon.

The live television coverage of the dramatic scenes that unfolded in the siege of Mumbai in last month’s multiple terror strikes, literally brought home quite vividly, the cold-blooded horror and the shocking reality of terrorism. The fact that the terrorists launched these attacks by commandeering a vessel in the Arabian Sea and slipping in ashore, virtually unchallenged and unnoticed, has exposed a chink in the defensive armour to prevent such incursions. It should serve as a wake-up call to the international community on the urgent need to beef up maritime security, in order to forestall such deadly attacks. Speaking in Parliament in the aftermath of these attacks, I drew the attention of the House to the similarity of the methods employed by the LTTE and the Mumbai terrorists. I said on that occasion on 27th November and I quote “The methodology and well-coordinated precision of these savage attacks are reminiscent of the terror tactics employed by the LTTE against innocent civilians and vital infrastructure in Sri Lanka. I have no doubt in my mind that terrorist groups the world over, study and mimic the modus operandi of each other to cause maximum death and destruction.” Unquote

In this context, I cautioned the international community of the danger posed by the LTTE to maritime security at the 6th Shangrila-La Dialogue in Singapore in June 2007. Speaking on that occasion, I said and quote “The challenge the LTTE poses is not confined to the waters of the Indian Ocean. In this modern globalized world where the element of technological transfer amongst different terrorist groups takes place at a rapid pace, the LTTE’s maritime terrorist attacks offer ‘copycat models’ for other terrorist groups. The LTTE also provides a convenient transport facility for other terrorist organizations. Thus, the LTTE’s activities are being watched as an early example of emerging trends and patterns in maritime terrorism.

The LTTE had carried out ten suicide attacks on Sri Lanka Navy vessels with the use of explosive laden boats before the Al Qaeda, attacked ‘USS Cole’ in Yemen in October 2000. In fact the Al-Qaeda attack on the 'USS Cole' was a copycat of the LTTE’s attack on “Abheetha”, a Sri Lankan navy supplies ship on 4th May 1991. In a 19th March 2003 interview with the BBC, the Sea Tigers Chief Soosai was to state “I think in Yemen they used our strategy of targeting the hull in their suicide attack to blow up an American ship, “USS Cole”-this is exactly what we used to do.” Unquote

Similarly, there is convincing evidence that democratic institutions and the rule of law are under increasing threat from the trans- national networking between terrorist groups and criminal syndicates engaging in illicit arms and narcotics trafficking, money laundering, piracy and human smuggling. It was former French President, Jacques Chirac who said that and I quote “Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of war that knows no borders or seldom has a face.” Unquote.

Despite the serious challenge posed by the LTTE aptly described by the FBI of the US, as among the most deadly terrorists in the world, the Government of Sri Lanka places the highest priority in the observance of human rights and respect for the rule of law, even as it engages in military operations to clear the last remaining pockets in Northern Sri Lanka of the LTTE terrorists. As former Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh said and I quote “Terrorism can never be accepted. We must fight it together, with methods that do not compromise our respect for the rule of law and human rights, or are used as an excuse for others to do so.” Unquote

Our people in the North have had to endure over two decades of misery and privation under the brutal and despotic reign of terror of the LTTE. As the Sri Lankan military makes steady inroads into LTTE held areas they do so with utmost professionalism and are at pains to avoid causing civilian casualties. We are confident that our fellow citizens in the North will soon be able to once again breathe the air of freedom and enjoy the fruits of democracy that the rest of our people have for so long taken for granted.

The defeat of LTTE terrorism will herald the dawn of lasting peace and stability in Sri Lanka. Our bitter experience in negotiating with the LTTE in the past has convinced us that unless the capacity of the LTTE to inflict its terror attacks on innocent civilians is neutralized, no political solution that the Government is formulating through the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC), drawing upon the collective wisdom of all democratic political parties, can be practically implemented. It is our considered view that disarming the LTTE is an essential pre-requisite to the unveiling of a political solution to address the genuine grievances of the minority communities in Sri Lanka.

A study by a research body, the Copenhagen Consensus recently has revealed that increasing defensive measures worldwide by 25% to counter terrorist attacks would cost at least US$75 billion over the next five years. In contrast, fostering greater international cooperation to cut off terrorist financing would be relatively cheaper and much more effective. As Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has quite rightly said and I quote “Together with international unity and resolve, we can meet this global scourge and work to bring about an international law of zero tolerance for terrorism.” Unquote.


A terrorist attack is an attack on society as a whole and its fundamental principles and core values. Terrorism spells the death knell for democracy. Terrorism anywhere is a threat to human civilization everywhere. The dark and evil forces of terrorism can never co-exist with the sublime values of democracy and the rule of law. The assassinated former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto underscored the importance of democracy as an effective deterrent to terrorism, when she declared, and I quote “Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermine the forces of terrorism.” Unquote

It is my fervent conviction that the clarion call that we proclaim in unison from the Bali Democracy Forum will be a beacon of hope to the peoples of the Asian region, whether they belong to vibrant and functioning democracies such as my own country, Sri Lanka, or others which have just begun to make their first tentative steps into this hitherto unchartered but exciting brave new world of democracy. - Sri Lanka Guardian