Iran To Train Sri Lankan Intelligence & Army Officers
April 24th, 2008
By B. Raman
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran is to visit Sri Lanka for two days from April 28, 2008, in response to an invitation from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had visited Iran in November, 2007. His engagements will include the inauguration of the construction of the Iranian-funded (US $ 450 million) Uma Oya hydroelectricity project at Wellawaya in the Monaragala district. When completed, the project is expected to produce 100 megawatts of electricity. The visit is also expected to result in the finalisation of an agreement for Iranian financial and technical assistance for enabling the Sapugaskanda oil refinery to handle Iran?s light crude. This project is expected to result in a further Iranian investment of US $ one billion.
2. In this connection, quoting Sri Lankan media, the “Teheran Times” of April 20, 2008, reported as follows: “Iran will increase its investment in the expansion project of an oil refinery in Sri Lanka up to US$ one billion, Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie said. According to the IRNA office in Tokyo, Fowzie in an interview with Kyodo on Wednesday said: “Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has allocated this amount which would cover 70 per cent of the required investment for the refinery’s expansion, in the form of a 10 year loan, with a five year exemption period from payment of the loan’s instalments.” Fowzie added: “Iran had earlier too provided the oil we need free from interest for four months.” According to the report, Iran is the largest provider of crude oil to Sri Lanka. According to the Kyodo report, Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Ashantha De Mel has said that the pilot study for increasing the production of Sri Lanka’s only refinery from 50,000 to 100,000 barrels per day has been completed by Iranian oil engineers. De Mel added: “Iran would make the major part of the required investment for expansion of this oil refinery (70 per cent) and the CPC would cover the rest (30 per cent).” Fowzie said the project would yield noticeable benefits for its investors. He said: “From the economic point of view my affiliated ministry too is interested in making investments there.” According to Kyodo, De Mel who visited Iran in early April 2008, expects the project’s executive phase to begin within the next three to four months. Oil experts predict that Sri Lanka’s oil refinery would increase its production after the Iranian oil engineers would end their work within the next two to three years.”
3. Iran has also agreed to provide low-interest credit to Sri Lanka to enable it to purchase military equipment from Pakistan and China and to train a small group of Sri Lankan Army and intelligence officers in Iran. A team of about 10 officers has already proceeded to Iran for training after a clandestine visit to Sri Lanka by Brigadier Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the Director-General of Iran?s Quds Force, or the Jerusalem Brigade, which is, inter alia, responsible for covert actions against Israel and for liaison with friendly foreign intelligence agencies. He is expected to come again as a member of the entourage of the Iranian President for further discussions on intelligence co-operation between the two countries.
4. According to reliable sources, Israel is reported to have expressed to Colombo its concern over the developing relations between Sri Lanka and Iran and warned that this could come in the way of supply and sale of Israeli military equipment to Sri Lanka in future. It has been reported by these sources that Sri Lanka has already shared with the Iranian intelligence copies of the instructions, training and maintenance manuals of the Israeli equipment purchased by it in the past and allowed some officers of the Quds Force to inspect the Israeli equipment. [saag]
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com)
Related: Iran to Fund Sri Lankan Arms Purchases
Entry Filed under: transCurrents NewsFeatures
14 Comments Add your own
1. Chennai_Analyst | April 24th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
The rogue state of IRAN with maniacal Mullahs led by AhMADinejad is fishing in the troubled waters of Sri Lanka. Iran is sitting on a cash pile of PetroDollars and does not know what to do with it.. Just like Saddam Hussein, all the crazy Mullahs know, is destruction and violence. Iran is throwing its weight around, inciting and creating trouble. They have threatened the very existence of Israel. Troubling as it is, with $120 Oil Prices and Global Food Shortages and uncertainty, Iran is asking for trouble by promoting more violence and terrorism.
While AhMADinejad may be having a Grand Time now, he and Iran will be Toast, by the years end. It is not if, but when?
If i were Manmohan Singh, I’d be busy stocking up my Oil Inventory and supplies, instead of laying out the Red-Carpet for a crazy Iran Terrorist!
Else, India will soon be caught sucking it’s thumb!
2. j.muthu | April 25th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Devils allways looking for Devils help.
3. aj | April 25th, 2008 at 5:27 am
trained by iran and supplied by israel, radars from india and air craft from pakistan, is sri lanka but a sweet irony?
4. Chennai_Analyst | April 25th, 2008 at 8:45 am
As a follow up: You said “It has been reported by these sources that Sri Lanka has already shared with the Iranian intelligence copies of the instructions, training and maintenance manuals of the Israeli equipment purchased by it in the past and allowed some officers of the Quds Force to inspect the Israeli equipment.”
……….Mr. Raman, can you be sure if the rogue SriLankan Sinhalas are not sharing or already shared all the info. and details and secrets of the DRDO-Israeli jointly developed Low-Flying Indira Radars (-that India “Gifted” to the Sinhalas), to the ISI of Pakistan, the Chinese and the Iranian Al-Quds Terrorists?
If that has happened, then India has shot itself in the foot! Another huuge blunder by India!
5. V Siva | April 25th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Iran is exporting State Terrorism to Apartheid Sri Lanka.
What Bush says on Iran should be correct that Iran is going to be a menace to the world.
6. V Siva | April 25th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Iran is branded as a Terror State by the US is training the Apartheid Sri lanka regime on State Terrorism.
7. True Thamizhan | April 25th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Indian external Politics shud not be dictated by Unwise hindi speaking north indian elites.
pls be aware that Global Millitary - Politics is changing. We know which side Lankan Gov is. The axis of evil Iran - Pakistan-china-Sri lanka.
Where India stands in all this? India shud beat the crowd and help the formation of Eelam. If not we have other options ! DO you guys want to see American helping to form Eelam? America sure gain much by creating another Israel in SOuth Asia. Not only America wants to protects its economic interests in south India, it also want to have a millitary advantage. Now that India - American “strategic” relationship seems to be souring(Nuclear deal, Iranina visit etc), AMericans have all the more reasons to intervene in Eelam.
So India have a rare chance to help the Eelam and be a friend with Eelam similar to Bangladesh. If not India will lose big time.
8. Anonymous | April 26th, 2008 at 3:52 am
Every country backs Sri Lanka in an ‘I scratch your back, you scratch my back’ deal. These powers help Sri Lanka defeat the Tigers and in return Sri Lanka promises all these powers something in the future. Basically, the future interests of India and the US-bloc will be secured in SL because they provide arms and training to Sri Lanka. An example of this material support is the US-bloc banned the LTTE, shut down political offices of the Tigers in Europe and North America, and arrested Tiger agents. Another example is India probably helped Sri Lanka destroy Tiger arms ships in the Bay of Bengal. There are plenty of other examples. Now Iran will secure its interests. For example, I think Sri Lanka has given diplomatic for support Iran’s nuclear program. And according to this article, Sri Lanka betrayed some Israeli manuals to Iran. Could this be UAV manuals? (On its face, it seems senseless and unneccessary to offend the US-bloc by getting cozy with Iran, but for the short term US will definitely continue to support Sri Lanka despite SL’s links with Iran). And it is a well known that Iran has plenty of oil but only a few refineries. Is the refinery expansion deal between Iran and Sri Lanka in any relation to Iran’s scarcity of refineries?
Basically, Sri Lanka needs the help of these powers in order to defeat the Tigers during this current war and it is willing to sell its external sovereignty in order to hold onto control of the Tamil areas. I guess the government would prefer the wording: ‘in order to preserve the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka’.
Analogy: Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is a cake, and every external power wants a slice. SL needs to sell the cake in order to overpower the Tigers.
These external powers are opportunists extracting concessions from a desperate Sri Lanka in order to secure their own interests. Moreover, these powers ALL support Colombo, because in the future they think the superior equipment and manpower of Sri Lanka will lead to a victory for Colombo. From their point of view it is better to back the ’stronger’ SL army than the ‘less powerful’ Tiger army.
9. Murugan | April 26th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Every country backs Sri Lanka in an ‘I scratch your back, you scratch my back’ deal. These powers help Sri Lanka defeat the Tigers and in return Sri Lanka promises all these powers something in the future. Basically, the future interests of India and the US-bloc will be secured in SL because they provide arms and training to Sri Lanka. An example of this material support is the US-bloc banned the LTTE, shut down political offices of the Tigers in Europe and North America, and arrested Tiger agents. Another example is India probably helped Sri Lanka destroy Tiger arms ships in the Bay of Bengal. There are plenty of other examples. Now Iran will secure its interests. For example, I think Sri Lanka has given diplomatic for support Iran’s nuclear program. And according to this article, Sri Lanka betrayed some Israeli manuals to Iran. Could this be UAV manuals? (On its face, it seems senseless and unneccessary to offend the US-bloc by getting cozy with Iran, but for the short term US will definitely continue to support Sri Lanka despite SL’s links with Iran). And it is a well known that Iran has plenty of oil but only a few refineries. Is the refinery expansion deal between Iran and Sri Lanka in any relation to Iran’s scarcity of refineries?
Basically, Sri Lanka needs the help of these powers in order to defeat the Tigers during this current war and it is willing to sell its external sovereignty in order to hold onto control of the Tamil areas. I guess the government would prefer the wording: ‘in order to preserve the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka’.
Analogy: Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is a cake, and every external power wants a slice. SL needs to sell the cake in order to overpower the Tigers.
These external powers are opportunists extracting concessions from a desperate Sri Lanka in order to secure their own interests. Moreover, these powers ALL support Colombo, because in the future they think the superior equipment and manpower of Sri Lanka will lead to a victory for Colombo. From their point of view it is better to back the ’stronger’ SL army than the ‘less powerful’ Tiger army.
10. Kurudan1 | April 26th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Dear Chennai analyst,
1. Indra radars are junk, that is why M.R Narayanan “allowed ” Srilanka to have them !!! . Since it is junk no one cares about its capabilty in the real world.
2. No one should worry about the Iran-Mahinda pact. It is going to be just another photo op.
3. Tamils joke about other countries giving weapons to Srilanka. ” During and after Jeyasikuru days about 50 countries supplied weapons and money for chandrika’s “War for Peace” . But Tamils got weapons from 51 countries, including Srilanka “
11. 2ndClassTamil | April 26th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Truth does not easily surface without being churned by turmoil. India should to have known who their natural allies are! They are yet to realise the historical anti-Indian psyche of the Sinhalese.
12. Lester | April 27th, 2008 at 8:52 am
The world unites against a true terror machine of the tigers amen to that, should be lesson for other parts of the world.
13. ISRAEL will Regret | April 29th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Mr Raman,
Now that Ahmadinejad has come, did you get info as to what he received in payment for the massive Iranian arms supply?
Since Sri Lanka is bankrupt my suspicion is Iran got paid via receiving either the BLUEPRINTS or some of the ISRAELI arms itself from SL military ;
Very soon dont be surprised if Iran has reverse -engineered copies of ISRAELI UAVs and KFIR jets in addition to other arms and use it against ISRAEL directly or via proxies like Hizbullah or Hamas.
And via Iran-trained Sri Lankan military intelligence Israeli military may be penetrated by Iranian spies.
Israel will do well to remember that the Sinhalese have a long history of selling state secrets to its enemy LTTE for money.Now imagine what the multibillion petro-dollars of Iran could buy??
And I used to think Jews are intelligent people, LOL:))
14. Michael Antony | April 29th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Sri Lanka is a terror state and Iran is also a terror state. Both are jointly seeing as to how they can ignore the UN and desstroy the world together.
When Tamil Diaspora warned the US, UK, India and Israel not to supply military hardware to the terror state of Sri Lanka, they never listened. Now they face the danger !
Even if the US, UK, India and Israel had the best military hardware, if they did not have the intelligence to comprehend the dangers of it falling into their enemies hand, they are stupid.
When a country promotes genocide of people, it comes back to them. US, UK, India and Israel are associates with the Sri Lankan state in the genocide of Tamils. Surely they have paid a high price for it. This convinces me about the existence of a just and living God.
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