Sri Lanka’s increase in defence spending sends the wrong message, said Taylor Dibbert whilst commenting on the “continued militarisation of the historically Tamil northern and eastern provinces.”
Noting that the Sirisena administration was “yet to address the issue of militarisation,” Mr Dibbert added that “there are no legitimate national security reasons for justifying” such an increased budget for Sir Lanka’s defence.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Mr Dibbert added,
“If the Sirisena administration was willing to speak candidly about militarisation and acknowledge that this is an issue that must be dealt with, even a modest reduction in defence expenditures would be welcomed.”
Under the newly proposed budget Sri Lanka’s MoD is expected to receive over 20 billion rupees more than it did in 2014.
Noting that the Sirisena administration was “yet to address the issue of militarisation,” Mr Dibbert added that “there are no legitimate national security reasons for justifying” such an increased budget for Sir Lanka’s defence.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Mr Dibbert added,
“If the Sirisena administration was willing to speak candidly about militarisation and acknowledge that this is an issue that must be dealt with, even a modest reduction in defence expenditures would be welcomed.”
Under the newly proposed budget Sri Lanka’s MoD is expected to receive over 20 billion rupees more than it did in 2014.