“To end war, eliminate the cause”

Former Army Commander Major General Dennis Perera, who was at the helm of the Sri Lanka Army from October 1977 to October 1981, is a man whose contribution to the betterment of Sri Lanka’s forces could never be underestimated.

Speaking about the ongoing military conflict, while applauding the forces, Perera however pointed out that the military is only destroying the militants. He asserted that there has to be a political solution in order to resolve the problem. “There is a cause. That cause must be eliminated. In our case it is language and participation in governance. Those are the two causes. They must be resolved,” he affirmed.

Perera, who was among the first batch of Army recruits to be sent to Sandhurst for training, was the man behind the decision to recruit women to the Army at a time when the forces were the exclusive domain of males. He also pioneered the cause of establishing the Sir John Kotelawela Defence Academy (KDA).

He strongly believes that the lack of character building is a primary reason for the prevalent corruption in all spheres of society. “One of the things that is lacking in our education system is character building. They are taught to study and get through examinations but character building is an aspect that has been neglected,” he emphasised

Q: How would you describe leading the Army during a non-conflict era?
A: It was a peace time Army. Many journalists say ‘ceremonial Army,’ which is all rubbish. Even now armies have ceremonies. But when there is no conflict, you have to ensure that there is peace in the country. At that time we had the JVP insurrections. Then we had little problems in the north – not like what it is today, but that’s how it all started.

Due to faulty foreign policies and lack of proper intelligence, India trained a considerable number of militant youth. The LTTE was not in existence. There were about 15 groups of militants. The LTTE came in later. At that time we were not aware of it. Anyway, we were preparing and during my period of command, I did various things to prepare the Army and get ready for any eventuality.

Q: What were the main challenges you faced during your tenure as Army Commander?
A: There were no challenges as such, except for having to re-organise the Army to meet threats. So I arranged for the acquisition of property all over the country, in 12 different locations, so that we could have the Army deployed in those places instead of just in Colombo, Diyathalawa and Panagoda. We set up 12 different cantonments in those places. It was a country-wide operation.

I also opened up a combat training school in Ampara so that we could be prepared to fight in any situation. Commandos were also built up during that period. We did not have commandos before that.

Q: What is the actual role of the Army Commander? Has this role changed over the years?
A: The Army Commander is a person who runs the Army. His first job is to advice the government on the Army itself – its strength, capability, training needs and management. He has to plan for the future and develop the future.

He has to ensure that all his subordinate commanders are ready to carry out their tasks and he must set them tasks. He does not need to get involved in the day to day operations. He is in overall command. He is also responsible for the supervision of operations. We had operations of a different kind at that time.

Q: In 1979, you decided to recruit women to the Army for the first time. Why did you take that decision and what are your views on that decision today?
A: We were a ‘men only’ Army at that stage. I am the one who recommended recruiting women but I had to get government permission because the government had to approve the payments, conditions, etc. The women are doing excellently. It was a timely and correct decision. After that the Navy and the Air Force also started recruiting women.

Q: You pioneered the cause of establishing the Sir John Kotelawela Defence Academy (KDA). Has the KDA achieved its objectives?
A: There is a movement in the world which is called a Revolution of Military Affairs (RMA). A RMA is to have all three forces operating jointly. One of the basic things that had to be done was to train the officers together. In furtherance of the RMA, I recommended the establishment of a defence academy.

It was to be opened somewhere. When I saw Kandawala, I thought ‘Here is the ideal place!’ Then I had to tackle Sir John Kotelawela, whom I did not know before, by telling him what all these things were about and it took some time to convince him. I went and saw various places all over the country but when I went to see Sir John on another matter, he made the mistake of showing me the whole place.

I inquired from someone who was very close to him – since I did not know him that well – to find out what he was going to do with it. He had planned to give it to Bernardo’s Homes but he was not too happy about it because some of the people who were directing the organisation were people he did not trust. I approached him through a friend and asked if he would give it for this purpose. He sent for me and said, ‘We’ll see.’

It took six months for him to decide and then he rang me and said, ‘I am giving you Kandawala. Tell the Lokka,’ meaning the President. ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘all this will be after I die. You will have to wait till I die.’ That’s how it came about. The KDA has certainly achieved its objectives. We have now upgraded it to a university, and I am the Chancellor. I am not involved in the day to day operations – that is a matter for the people who are running it.

Q: You were among the first batch of recruits from the Sri Lanka Army to be sent to Sandhurst for training. Sandhurst has produced seven Commanders of the Sri Lanka Army. Could you describe that experience?
A: 1949 was the year in which the Army was to be formed. There was no Army in Sri Lanka before that. I was a school boy cadet and when we went to Cadet Camp in Diyathalawa, the man who was going to command the Army, Brigadier Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness, addressed us cadets. It was an impressive address.

It was in October and I was doing my GCE A/Ls in December that year. In October this was advertised and I was selected with nine others. There were 10 of us. My parents were dead against my going but I had to get someone to convince them that this was better than sitting for A/Ls.

Sandhurst was a tremendous experience. It was a well-established academy that was 200 years old and all the important people of the British forces were trained there, including Winston Churchill, who became their war-time prime minister. There was a lot of history and a lot of tradition. At that time there weren’t many foreign cadets, just the 10 of us, four Burmese and two Thais. Now the place is full of people of all nationalities.

Q: How would rate the armed forces competence now? What is required to make the forces more formidable since they are fighting with one of the world’s most dangerous guerrilla outfits?
A: They seem to be doing well. I am not privy to what they are doing. I go by the newspaper and what people tell me. I have been out now for almost 30 years. They seem to be doing well. Until now what they required was not given to them, including the equipment they wanted. They were not given the proper direction. People had political objectives and so forth. But now they seem to have got the equipment and the proper direction. Of course, they are far more experienced now – both the commanders and the troops. That is important so that they can develop their capability.

Q: Given the high defence spending, procurement is always tainted with allegations of corruption. Some ex-service commanders have been implicated as well. What are your views on how Sri Lanka can ensure best practices in defence procurement that will not question the integrity of service chiefs and people serving the forces?
A: Like any other procurement, it has to be done by honest people. It is not only in the case of defence spending, in various other things as well, you see the same thing happening. Just look at the headlines in the newspapers. As long as we have a corrupt society, this will go on.

We never heard of these things 25 years ago; except very rarely. Now it is more common than uncommon in all branches of society. It shows that one of the things that is lacking in our education system is character building. They are taught to study and get through examinations but character building is an aspect that has been neglected.

Q: What are your views on the military conflict now?
A: They seem to be doing well and it is a question of ensuring that the troops are well provided to carry out their mission.

Q: As a member of civil society, how do you think the conflict can be resolved?
A: Not by war, but by negotiation. There have been 240-odd insurgencies in the world after World War II. Of them, only three have been successfully completed by combat. The first was in Malaya, where they destroyed the Communist terrorists and resettled the people. The second was the Kurdish insurgency and it was destroyed militarily. The third one was the JVP in Sri Lanka – defeated twice. In all the rest, after combat was carried out on the government side, negotiations were carried out.
It has to be a political solution. The military is only destroying the militant lot. But there is a cause. That cause must be eliminated. In our case it is language and participation in governance. Those are the two causes. They must be resolved.

Q: What is your advice to young people who aspire to serve the nation?
A: First and foremost, build character. Teachers must develop the character of youth. People should not be selfish. They should be national-minded. Not racist, but national-minded. They must be honest in their approach in whatever they do.