The history of the mercenaries is as old as the history of the war itself. From Carthaginians to the British many nations relied on mercenary soldiers to make the decisive outcomes in the war front. It may appear to be bizarre to imagine the impetus behind Sri Lankan ex-servicemen to become Mercenaries to Russia as the country’s military lacks continental military experience in large-scale warfare regardless of their previous success in defeating the Tamil terrorism in an unprecedented display of asymmetrical warfare.
The situation that encompasses the Ministry of Defense and the relevant authorities in Sri Lanka is perplexing as the soldiers who left the island have joined both Ukrainian and Russian forces. Sadly, it is likely to see a calamitous situation in which one Sri Lankan soldier might get killed by another Sri Lankan on the war front. Three months ago, Sri Lankan national, ex-Commando named Captain Ranish Hewage died in Ukraine, while serving in the Ukrainian army. Last week Security authorities in Colombo were disoriented by the death of another Sri Lankan ex-soldier in the Russian war front by unveiling the vulnerabilities of the Sri Lanka security nexus on the current whereabouts of their ex-servicemen.
On the face of it, Sri Lanka is in tatters with the ongoing economic crisis as it has created tremendous socio-economic discontent. Growing disparities in Sri Lankan society galvanize its youth to leave the country in pursuit of material prosperity. The professionals consisting of relatively a lower percentage of society look for green pastures in the West as the skills they acquired provide many possible paths. But, the situation remains bleak with the ex-soldiers from the Sri Lankan security forces. As the economic woes continue, the dire reality looms before the Sri Lankan ex-soldiers seem to have aspired to risk their lives in an unknown geo-cultural territory for the betterment of their dependents in Sri Lanka.
A report submitted by the State Intelligence Service ( SIS) of Sri Lanka to the country’s defence secretary indicates there are hundreds of Sri Lankan nationals serving on both Russian and Ukrainian fronts. The investigation further revealed that many of them joined the Russian troops after getting inspired by seeing TikTok videos of the Russian army and the prospects of obtaining Russian citizenship. According to family members of Nipuna Silva, a Sri Lankan soldier who died recently, while serving the Russian army, Silva paid $ 4000,00 to a local agency to get his job in Russia, which tragically became his awaited doom.
Sri Lanka faces a quandary in this ongoing crisis as the country’s national legal framework remains silent about the exodus of ex-servicemen in Sri Lankan forces to the cold. The proposed anti-terrorism bill in Sri Lanka contains certain provisions restricting Sri Lankan nationals from joining international terrorist groups. However, the proposed Bill is conspicuously weak in confronting the issue related to the ex-soldiers. On the other hand, the state practice of Sri Lanka is ambiguous on the issue of mercenaries. Internationally, it falls within the realm of customary international law and the Geneva Additional Protocol 1 defines the nature of a mercenary soldier. As per Article 47 of the additional protocol 1, the mercenaries do not enjoy the status of combatants and prisoners of war. Also, in conformity with the Geneva Conventions, mercenaries can be held criminally responsible if they commit war crimes. It is a stark contrast to the sanguine expectations of the Sri Lankan soldiers as they are not aware of the grave dangers that await them. Neither Sri Lankan government nor Sri Lankan media have made enough efforts to prevent Sri Lankan ex-servicemen from this debacle.
Since Putin’s decision to allow foreign fighters to join Russian forces in 2022 March, a larger number of South Asian nationals reached Russia as mercenaries by showing a temerity to fight for Russia. Notwithstanding Moscow’s expectation of Syria as a potential manpower provider, men from South Asia became a formidable asset on the war front due to different circumstances. Besides the promising salary packages offered by the Russian army, there is the public perception in the Sri Lankan society which is much more favorable to Moscow. Most of the members of the Sri Lankan armed forces share positive views on the Russian military as Russia was one of the few countries that openly supported the military efforts of the Rajapaksa government in 2009 to crush Tamil terrorism. The means and methods of warfare adopted by Russians in its Ukrainian invasions seemed to have created minimal effects upon Sri Lankan ex-servicemen to make their own value judgments.
Unlike previous conflicts like the Spanish Civil War when folks around the world joined the Spanish Civil War to defeat fascism, those joining either Ukraine or Russia took their steps driven by financial needs. The influx of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen to both the Russian and Ukrainian war fronts can open a series of new problems for the Sri Lankan state apparatus. In particular, the alleged war crimes against Sri Lankan government soldiers continue to echo in the many international forums such as the Geneva UN Human Rights Council and the involvement of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen in the Russia-Ukrainian war puts one more brick into the so-called allegations. Referring to the Sri Lankan mercenaries in the Russian army, Tamil Guardian speculates that Sri Lanka ex-servicemen would freely commit war crimes in an international armed conflict.
It may seem to be a foregone conclusion to state that the problem of Ex-servicemen turning to become mercenaries lies in the unreformed military structure of Sri Lankan defence forces. According to the World Bank reports in 2019, the sheer size of Sri Lankan defence forces stood up to 317,000, twice the size of the UK regular forces. The continuity of a large army for a debt-ridden country is inimical for the real interests. Therefore, the Sri Lankan government should implement a soft mechanism to reduce the larger numbers of the security forces and simultaneously more prudent steps should be taken to mobilize the retired soldiers for civil life.
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