Cardinal values for our Security Forces

We will be stating the obvious if we say that security is one of the country's foremost needs at present. However, what may be not so obvious to many is the self-sacrificial task performed by the Security Forces personnel of Sri Lanka in securing this safety and stability for us.

With the LTTE deciding to shy away from the negotiating table and resorting more ravenously than ever before to the terror weapon, the tasks confronting our servicemen have mounted in complexity and arduousness. If not for the courage and doughtiness of our Security Forces in taking on the Tigers and setting them to flight, the destruction and bloodshed wreaked by the Tigers would be immense.

Accordingly, we all need to salute our Security Forces and police for their rigorous application to the task of making Sri Lanka a safer place for all our countrymen.

The professionalism and discipline shown by the Security Forces is no less important than their large-hearted courage.

The former features have come out most emphatically in the current round of hostilities and if the ceasefire is continuing to hold, it is because of the stringent discipline of our Security Forces. Their stoicism and inner-strength in the face of grave LTTE provocation has helped to perpetuate peace and this is the undeniable truth.

It is vitally important that these qualities are passed on to all those selfless men and women who don the uniforms of the Sri Lankan Security Forces in times to come.

This is one of the best guarantees of peace and these young persons would also do well to hearken to National Defence, Public Security and Law and Order Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who, at a recent commissioning parade underscored three principles which need to guide the Security Forces. They are: defending the country, upholding one's self-respect and dedication to the battlefield with a sense of humanity.
While there is no doubt that one of the principal duties of the Security Forces is the upholding of the unity and territorial integrity of the country, self-respect and humanity are no less vital qualities in a member of the armed forces. It cannot be emphasized enough that the Security Forces and the LTTE are diametrically opposed in orientation and values. The Tigers, for instance, can afford to go on the rampage and spill innocent blood. They could give vent to the basest impulses but not so the Security Forces.
The Tigers could wantonly subvert the Rule of Law and trigger lawlessness all around, but not so the Security Forces.

As the Defence Secretary pointed out, the Security Forces need to be embodiments of dignity and humanity. These values need to be emphasized because the Security Forces should really be seen as consisting of Officers and Gentlemen/Ladies. When they are seen in this light, they become catalysts in the promotion of law and order. The law is respected and upheld by all.
