Overview: The Sri Lankan government defeated the
terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Concerns
remain that widely reported allegations of atrocities and violations of
international law committed by both the government and the LTTE during
the civil war have not been addressed. Partly as a result,
counterterrorism cooperation and training with the United States was
limited in 2013. No arrests related to terrorism were made, but the
Government of Sri Lanka remained concerned that the LTTE’s international
network of financial support was still functioning.
The Sri Lankan government continued to maintain a strong military presence in post-conflict areas and continued to voice concern about the possible re-emergence of pro-LTTE sympathizers. Sri Lankan police did not participate in the Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program in 2013.
The Sri Lankan government continued to maintain a strong military presence in post-conflict areas and continued to voice concern about the possible re-emergence of pro-LTTE sympathizers. Sri Lankan police did not participate in the Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program in 2013.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:
Counterterrorism legislation in Sri Lanka has historically focused on
eliminating the LTTE. In 2013, the Government of Sri Lanka continued to
implement the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), enacted in 1982 as a
wartime measure, which gives security forces sweeping powers to search,
arrest, and detain individuals. The government sometimes used the PTA to
stifle dissent among political opponents or others critical of the
government.
Although U.S. antiterrorism assistance to Sri Lanka has generally been
limited, in 2013 the Sri Lankan government was a proactive partner with
the U.S. Departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense, and Energy on
securing its maritime border. The U.S. Coast Guard, under the
Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security
program, continued to train Sri Lankan Coast Guard and Navy personnel on
border and export control matters, and the government of Sri Lanka
continued to cooperate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection through
the Container Security Initiative.
Border security remained a significant issue for the Sri Lankan
Government in 2013. In 2013, the U.S. State Department trained 25 Sri
Lankan immigration officials on fraudulent document recognition, while
the International Organization for Migration (IOM) trained 40
immigration officers in techniques to improve border surveillance and
combat human trafficking. IOM also continued to work with the Australian
government to provide specialized training to Sri Lankan immigration
personnel on profiling, identification of violators, and arrests and
prosecutions, among other border control-related training.
Beginning in late 2012, the Sri Lankan government began partnering with
the Canadian Counterterrorism Program on two border security related
projects: the Interpol Database system, used to store and share
profiling information in real time, and the Lost and Stolen Passport
program, which addresses the large-scale border control issues the Sri
Lankan government faces.
Also in 2013, the Sri Lankan government collaborated with the EU
Immigration Department on the Advanced Passenger Information system,
which transmits passenger information to Government of Sri Lanka
immigration officials upon arrival. Collaboration with the Australian
government has resulted in the development of a passport fingerprinting
program scheduled to go online in 2014. The data generated from these
collection systems will be significant assets to the Sri Lankan
government in its efforts to control and combat illegal migration;
however, the issue of maritime border security is one that needs
additional action and must be considered within a regional context.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Sri Lanka
belongs to the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and the
Finance of Terrorism (EAG), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style
regional body. In June, the FATF welcomed Sri Lanka’s progress in
improving its anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance (AML/CFT)
regime and removed the country from FATF’s monitoring process. Sri Lanka
was, however, encouraged to continue the implementation of its
procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets.
While neither an important regional financial center nor a preferred
center for money laundering, several factors make the country vulnerable
to money laundering and terrorist finance. These include a lack of
transparent tender mechanisms in government projects, past experience
with terrorism, tax evasion, and a large informal economy. Legal
remittance flows through the formal banking system have increased
sharply in recent years. Remittances originate primarily from Sri
Lanka’s substantial overseas workforce.
Before its defeat in 2009, the LTTE had used a number of non-profit
organizations for fundraising purposes. Sri Lanka continued its efforts
to search for other financial links to the LTTE, even many years after
the war ended. There were criticisms that this search for terrorists was
extended well beyond its utility and expanded to target legitimate
political opponents of the government. For further information on money
laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics
Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and
Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: In November, the Sri Lankan
government held the Galle Dialogue, which featured multilateral
discussion by international security force representatives on issues of
regional security in South Asia. Issues covered during the conference
included maritime terrorism and the trafficking of narcotics, weapons,
and people.