Commander Security Forces (West) studying the proposed layout of a new location for the infantry brigade - Sri Lanka Army
The Sri Lankan Army has expressed concern about misinformation circulating on social media regarding the downsizing of the military, stating that it actually plans to "scale" as part of its long-term strategy.
In a video statement, an army official claimed that such misinformation erodes public trust in the military and insisted downsizing was not taking place, despite Sri Lanka being one of the most militarised places in the world.
The Army's statement claimed there was a surge in false information over the past few weeks, which fosters animosity towards the military he said. "Social media enthusiasts have created these videos to promote their accounts without verifying the information," an army representative stated. He added that the videos falsely claim the army is being deployed to new locations while others are being sent to barracks. This, he clarified, is not a short-term decision but part of the army's long-term strategy to scale operations.
“These posts aim to disrupt the long-standing harmony between the Sri Lankan Army and the public, potentially posing a threat to national security in the future. The Army strongly condemns such false and baseless statements made by a few individuals.”
Sri Lanka remains one of the most militarized places in the world with the government continuing to allocate significant resources to the defence sector, even amid an ongoing economic crisis.
“For every 100 citizens, we have 1.5 soldiers,” Eran Wickramaratne of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) admitted to Sri Lanka’s parliament earlier this year. “We rank among the top ten countries with the highest number of soldiers per 100 civilians. In 2022, we spent 4 percent of our GDP on education, 5 percent on health, and 7 percent on defense, with around 60 percent of the defense budget going towards wages.”
A 2017 report by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) and People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) found at least one Sri Lankan soldier for every two civilians in Mullaitivu. The Sri Lankan military has faced credible accusations of committing war crimes during the culmination of the genocide in 2009, where tens of thousands of Tamils were killed.
The scale of the Sri Lankan military is staggering; in 2018, the World Bank estimated there were 317,000 service personnel in the country—twice the size of the UK's regular forces. Despite such criticisms, the military has intensified its presence in the North-East since 2009, deeply embedding itself in various aspects of civil society. Military-run schools, businesses, resorts, and factories are prevalent in the North-East, contributing to a culture of fear and surveillance among the Tamil population.
