The making of foreign
policy can no longer be considered the sole function of an elite group
-Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
It gives me great pleasure to welcome
you to the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Institute of International Relations. The
Institute fulfils a long felt need in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a focal point
for research and discussion on policy planning and formulation of policy alternatives and
responses. It is also intended to serve as a forum to promote greater public awareness and
understanding of international issues. Since the Sri Lanka Foreign Service is more than 50
years old, an Institute such as SLIIR is today an urgent imperative.
I am happy at this opportunity, early in the
New Year, to meet with the Diplomatic Corps resident in Colombo as a group. I invite all
diplomatic missions and representatives of international and other organizations to extend
their full cooperation to the Sri Lanka Institute of International Relations. Such
cooperation could for example be in organizing thematic lectures and seminars to promote a
better understanding of the foreign policy of other countries and relevant global issues.
We are grateful to the many governments and foreign policy institutions, which have
already furnished useful periodicals and publications invaluable to building up SLIIR
library.
I am also pleased that many distinguished
representatives from leading Sri Lanka institutions including universities, independent
research organizations, the private sector, media and civil society, are present here
today on this occasion. The Sri Lanka Institute for International Relations is the window
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote public discussion and research, both
anticipatory and reactive, on global and regional issues, especially as they impact on Sri
Lanka. Your contribution will be vital to enable our new Institute to achieve its
objective of promoting public awareness and discussion on international affairs,
particularly enhancing Sri Lanka's image and role in the world.
A significant feature of the SLIIR is the
provision of an electronic monitoring center to follow global events and to make
up-to-date information available to government agencies which need to keep abreast of
current political and economic developments as they unfold. This monitoring center will
also provide useful early training for young officers of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service to
sharpen their skills in reporting and analyzing current events, making use of the full
range of modern electronic tools.
Unlike in the past when governments were
dependent on the reports of their Ambassadors sent through long and difficult routes,
today information is instant, from multiple sources and all pervasive. A good diplomat
can't just report current events, today he must be ahead of events, able to forecast with
speed and accuracy. In this globalized world, the timely gathering of information and
intelligence is essential, especially to a small country which must position itself
accurately, amidst competing interests, for political and economic advantage. Henry
Kissinger in his book "'Diplomacy" puts it aptly: " International Relations
have become truly global for the first time. Communications are instantaneous, the world
economy operates on all continents simultaneously".
I must also say a few words about these
premise, better known as the "Light House". During the colonial period the
building was once the residence of the Superintendent whose duty was to maintain the light
houses around the Sri Lankan coast for the safety of the thousands of ships plying
everyday through the sea lanes, east and west of the Indian Ocean. It is therefore,
appropriate that this historic building should serve today as a modern beacon, to promote
knowledge and the awareness of international issues and trends, thereby helping us to
steer the ship of state safely through the perils of unknown tides.
This beautiful building has been refurbished and renovated
with a new auditorium, conference and committee room, a library and electronic monitoring
center, thanks to the foresight of my predecessor, former Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Finally, I must say a few words to the Sri Lanka Foreign
Service, particularly the young officers. You are the practitioners, an essential pillar
of any country’s diplomatic representation. It is your performance, which will
naturally reflect and enhance our country’s image abroad. I hope, that young officers
will make full use of the resources of this Institute, to broaden their knowledge and to
learn to interact positively with members of the public, academia, media and so on, which
form an integral part of the international relations constituency today.
The making of foreign policy can no longer be considered the
sole function of an elite group. It must be responsive to public concerns, lasting, and
able to withstand the glare of public scrutiny and to work with the media and civil
society. I trust that this new Institute will no doubt strengthen the relevance of
international relations in our society and the world at large.
The new film to be launched in a few minutes,
is a documentary which reflects some of the important milestones in our diplomatic
history, produced using valuable archival material from a variety of sources. It is a new
initiative by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to bring diplomacy closer to the people,
while fulfilling the twin objectives of strengthening institutional machinery as well as
projecting a vision for the future.
Address made recently in Colombo by
Honorable Minister of Foreign Minister on the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Institute of
International Relations-chief editor.
The professionalization of
the French armed forces
Sophie BARRAU, France
In France, the organization of military
defense increasingly includes more and more professional and high-level army technicians.
Today, national service in the army for young French people is no longer compulsory. The
conscripts are giving way to volunteers and civilians with international and European
prospects.
"Universal and compulsory"
military service, such as was experienced by Frenchmen until it was suspended, was
introduced in 1905 under the third republic. After the Second World War, the appearance of
new kinds of ever more powerful and accurate weapons led the general staff to wonder about
the usefulness of maintaining a large number of conscripts. The French government,
concerned to avoid an increase in the number of exemptions, introduces national service in
1965 which, in addition to normal military service, included cooperation and technical
assistance services. However, the more the government sought to diversify forms of
military and national service, the more the inequalities between the conscripts increased.
National service was an institution that was deeply rooted in French Republican tradition.
All citizens of male sex had to do their military service from the age of 18. They would
fulfil their service if they had the required, medically ascertained aptitudes.
Dispensation could be granted in a determined number of cases. Young women volunteers
could have access to the various forms of national service within limits established by
decree.
On the proposal by the Minister of Defense,
the French president and the Prime Minister agreed, in June 2001 that compulsory military
service would immediately be suspended. The professionalization of the armed forces and
the suspension of the conscription, decided upon by president Chirac in February 1996 and
provided for by the law of 28 October 1997, are being implemented at the rate planned. The
recruitment and the increase in the number of volunteers is going ahead in good
conditions. The year 2002 will see the completion of the creation of a professional army
as 92,500 servicemen and women of professional rank and 27,000 volunteers will be
employed. This new law, providing for the suspension of national service, opens a new page
in the history of the armed forces and the French nation. Since February 2001, the Navy
and the air force no long take in conscripts. For the army and the Gendarmeries, which are
more sensitive to the effects of the suspension of conscription, the recruitment of
volunteers will make it possible to attain the fixed objectives in 2002. In this new
context, "defense preparation days" will enable young French people to become
more aware of their civic responsibilities. The servicemen and women and the civilians in
French Defense have undertaken a wide scale reform. "The development of the link
between armed forces and society is one of the ministry's priorities, especially in the
framework of citizenship which links every young French women and man to the defense and
reinforces a feeling of common destiny", the French minister of Defense remarked in a
communiqué. He has become France's main employer of young people with nearly 28,000 young
recruits a year.
Today, young French women and men are
prepared for their future rights and duties by a veritable, universal course in
citizenship. The course includes lessons in defense as part of the school syllabus,
compulsory registration at the age of 16 and a "defense preparation day" for
young French boys and girls. The compulsory participation of French girls is a new aspect
which, in the long term, could lead to increased female participation among volunteers in
defense. At the end of the "defense preparation day," those wishing to do so
will be able to follow military training, join military reserve or do a stint of voluntary
work in the armed forces. In July 2001, 1.8 million young French people attended the
defense preparation day. The growing role of the French teachers in civic, legal and
social education has been confirmed with modules on the principles and the organization of
national European defense being integrated in the syllabus. Young French people wishing to
take part in defense activities will be able to follow from one to four weeks' military
preparation. It will enable them to obtain a specialization, to follow a course commanding
and, possibly, to continue as a volunteer in the military reserve.
This reform corresponds to the new
geo-strategic realities resulting, in particular, from the end of the cold war. The threat
of a direct, large-scale attack of the Western-European territory has given way to a risk
of an increase in local conflicts which ignite whole regions and which call for a quick
response. France has thus proposed to increase its "projectable" forces to
60,000 men able to intervene quickly in any external theater of operations. Finally, the
involvement of the French armed forces in the new international environment calls for
immediately available forces whose cohesion must be acquired before they take part in any
conflict, the ability to quickly become integrated in an international scheme and good
experience of increasingly sophisticated technology. To satisfy this development, the
professionalization of the French armed services will be seen through to the end. |
