The COSATT Regional Conference on ‘Preventing Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism in South Asia’ was co-organized by the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) and Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka (INSSSL) in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) from the 3rd - 4th of April 2017 at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo. The event marked the converging of the most high-ranking think tanks in the region, in order to discuss and promote collective security in South Asia. The aim of the conference was to bring together academics, practitioners and experts in the fields of defence and security studies to discuss and deliberate on best practices in countering violent extremism.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Chairman of INSSSL, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, commenced the proceedings with his address as Chief Guest of the conference. He spoke of extremism as the common factor creating instability in South Asia which has led to the region having one of the highest annual number of deaths caused by terrorism worldwide. ‘Equally, socio-economic and human security issues plague the South Asian region and need to be given priority by governments’. He therefore emphasized these human security issues as one of the reasons why our president Maithripala Sirisena declared 2017 as the year of Alleviation of Poverty.
Mr. Asanga Abeyegoonesekera, Director General of INSSSL, which is the premier national security think tank in the country, in his address, stated that the ‘issue of preventing terrorism and combating violent extremism was of ‘extreme relevance to Sri Lanka’ and that this is an area of research pursued by INSSSL as it encompasses radicalization not just through traditional security but also through human security aspects. With regards to the issue of terrorism, Mr. Abeyegoonesekera emphasized the importance of learning from and sharing the Sri Lankan experience as the only country to have defeated ‘one of the most ruthless terrorist outfits in the world’. The inauguration ceremony was concluded with a vote of thanks given by Dr. Nishchal N. Pandey, Director, Centre for South Asian Studies, Kathmandu.
The initial session of the conference saw presentations by Heads of South Asian think tanks. Maj. Gen. AKM Abdur Rahman, Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka suggested a ‘One Stop Service Center’ for the region in countering violent extremism (CVE). He further stated that there’s no support multilaterally and lack of trust between governments in the region which hinders the process of countering this phenomenon. Maj. Gen. Abdur Rahman suggested a two pronged approach to this, which is building regional institutions and mutual trust. His solution to countering violent extremism was to adopt a holistic and comprehensive approach and devise a regional comprehensive strategy. The Major General advised countries not to be held captive by bilateral conflicts and mutual distrust that currently plague the region.
Maj. Gen. (retd.) ANM Muniruzzaman, President of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) in Dhaka, expanded on the issue stating that it was imperative for the region to produce critical thinkers when considering the violent extremism narrative that is being propagated. Interestingly, he noted that states don’t need counter-narratives and they should in fact produce the narrative and let the radicals/ extremists counter the state’s narrative. Mr. Avadhesh Mathur a member of the National Security Advisory Board in New Delhi, rounded off the session by focusing on the threat posed by terrorism in the region. Similar to the previous speaker, he suggested that the current terrorist narrative could be discredited by delegitimizing the three prevalent terrorist organizations operating in the region – the LTTE and current Tamil diaspora, terrorists bred in the Af-Pak region and ISIS. In this regard, the cooperation of states is essential. There was also a remark during the discussion with regard to the lack of intelligence sharing in the region.
The afternoon session of COSATT was dominated by a younger generation of researchers from the South Asian region which focused on the nature of violent extremism in Nepal and the threat and counter-threat mechanisms implemented in the country; and the Sri Lankan experience with defeating the terrorist outfit of the LTTE. Following on from this, a research officer for the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka concluded the afternoon session with a presentation on the religious aspects driving terrorism and extremism in her country.
The second day of the conference commenced with a presentation from Ambassador (retd.) Nihal Rodrigo. With his extensive background in diplomacy, Ambassador Rodrigo was able to shed light on how the LTTE built up its support base at its zenith. His prowess in explaining the intricacies of the causes of terrorism with regards to the Sri Lankan case were enlightening. The conference was brought to a close with presentations by Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) in Colombo, who took a different philosophical approach to theorizing violent extremism. There were also views/ presentations by journalists from several South Asian countries which was a refreshing and novel aspect to the conference.
The COSATT regional conference was a success in that it illuminated the problems in the South Asian region with regards to terrorism and violent extremism. However, the biggest achievement was that it brought together critical thinkers from diverse defence, academic and civilian backgrounds and united them resolutely in discussing solutions to the current security challenges. Thus, the facilitation of events like COSATT in the future will only make the region more robust in ensuring the peaceful prosperity of South Asia as a regional superpower.