“Sri Lankan battle space has shifted from the physical terrain to the virtual space since the end of the terrorist battle in May 2009.
To meet the contemporary challenges, train and equip a soldier with a Smartphone or laptop rather than a firearm”, said KDU Honorary Prof. Rohan Gunaratna addressing the signature seminar on Sri Lanka’s Defence Policy Past, Present and Future Projections.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Gunaratna said that the security forces should not evolve but revolve to modernise to meet the contemporary challenges. Rather than narrowly focusing on security threats such as terrorism and crime, build an intelligence officer 2.0 called a “national security professional” trained to anticipate economic, energy, food and other crisis in the making.
Stating that the defence policy is at the core of the national security policy, Prof. Gunaratna said the economic crisis is a failure of national security.
To follow up on the National Security Council decisions, he called for the establishment of a National Security Council Secretariat and to create alternative thinking, constituting a National Security Advisory Board.
To respond to the crises confronting Sri Lanka, he added that a Cabinet-level National Security Advisor who can work with the Ministers to prevent, preempt and react to crises is imperative.
The protests at Galle Face is a horse shoe model where both the left and right wing came together to fight the current Government.
He called policy and decision makers to build strategic communications capabilities to counter online falsehoods and manipulations. He added that Galle Face protests are an imprint of the social media and Government failure to rebut fake news and address real challenges of governance.
Among those present were KDU Chancellor General Gerry De Silva, Vice Chancellor Major General Milinda Peiris, Secretary of Defence Gen Kamal Gunaratna, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, Chief of National Intelligence Major General Ruwan Kulatunga, National Defence College Commandant Major General Amal Karunasekera and Director General Customs Major General Vijitha Ravipriya.