LSE don warns of repercussions of downsizing military

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There would be social and economic consequences of the decision to downsize the military as the rural economy in Sri Lanka had been in a state of crisis and stagnation long before the present economic crisis,  Associate Professor of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Rajesh  Venugopal told The Island.

He said that for a few decades the Army had been one of the few sources of formal sector employment for the rural south, particularly for young men of poor families.

“If this opportunity is taken away, it will have major consequences, and so we should expect greater rural joblessness, poverty, and pressure for young men to migrate both internally and externally. There could also be serious social and political consequences – we should not forget that unemployment and rural poverty in the rural south led to political radicalisation and social unrest in the 1970s and 1980s,” he said.

However, the reduction in the size of the military was necessary and long overdue, he added.

“Military expenditure has been a huge drain on national resources, and the present size and structure of armed forces are geared to fighting a war which ended 13 years ago.  It is a pity that it required a serious economic crisis to arrive at this policy decision, but there have been strong political interests and economic incentives that have kept military spending and the headcount at high levels,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s military expenditure is largely recurrent, based on salaries and pensions of soldiers who have long service contracts, he said.