In 1985, in the rank of Brigadier, Hamilton Wanasinghe became the first Security Forces Commander of Jaffna. A gentleman officer who carried himself with good military values, he passed away at the age of 91 a few days ago.
Gen. Wanasinghe joined the Army in 1954 and was trained at the prestigious military institution, the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in Britain.
When he became the Commander of Jaffna in 1985, it was the period where not only the LTTE but three other militant outfits such, namely EPRLF, PLOTE, and EROS remained a threat to the Armed forces. The LTTE was the most fearsome of all militant organisations and they were launching attacks at military installations in various parts in the North.
Gen. Wanasinghe’s office was located at the Gurunagar housing scheme building in Jaffna. However, with the escalation of the attacks on the armed forces, the Army with its men and machines moved into the Jaffna Fort.
In fact, the Jaffna fort was built by the Dutch invaders to house their military personnel and to monitor threats from the enemies. The ramparts of the Fort were built by Dutch military architects with spaces on all sides to place their artillery guns and with a surrounding moat fed with water from the adjoining Pannai lagoon.
The militants even started using the long-range mortars and artillery after the Army moved into the Jaffna fort. Later on the Fort became a death trap and several Army personnel even died inside the fort when attacks were carried out by the LTTE who had surrounded it from all sides.
Following the severity of the attacks the Army had to withdraw from the Fort and were compelled to retreat to Palaly.
Gen. Wanasinghe, a veteran soldier, dealt with the situation as far as the challenges faced by the armed forces from the North and East at the early stages of the Tamil militancy.
Joining the Army in 1954, Gen. Wanasinghe received all his due promotions due to his unblemished record as a fine officer in the Army.
He was appointed Army Commander on August 15, 1988 and served until November 15, 1991, and was promoted to the rank of Lt. General.
During the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF,) Gen. Wanasinghe had the unprecedented task of maintaining cordial relations with the IPKF established Army sniper school.
As the Commander of the Army, he risked his own life and was present at the Elephant Pass rescue operation Balawegaya, along with several other top-ranking commanders, including Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa, which was launched to liberate Elephant Pass from the clutches of the LTTE.
With support received from the Navy, the Sri Lanka Army was successful in the operation and broke the LTTE siege to take back control of Elephant Pass.
During his period as Brigadier heading the Armed Forces in the North, mainly carrying out surgical operations before the North and East armed conflict turned into an overall war, Gen. Wanasinghe believed that only a political solution could bring an everlasting solution to any conflict.
