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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thursday, August 31, 2017
Vice Admiral Sinniah’s Admirable feats
By Manekshaw-2017-08-26
The Sri Lankan Armed Forces had been very much ceremonial until the
North and East separatist war started in the early eighties. Apart from
engaging in the 1971 insurgency for a brief period, the Sri Lanka Armed
Forces personnel were largely confined to their barracks and bases set
up during the British period.
However, as 'much water has passed under the bridge', it is interesting to see that the 'battle hardened' officers who grew up with the separatist war from the time they had joined the armed forces in the early eighties took up positions as top commanders of the Army, Navy and the Air Force with their vast experiences in sea, air and land battles with one of the deadliest militant outfits in the world, the LTTE.
The 21st Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah, a veteran, played different roles by ensuring the safe sea route for the flotillas carrying supplies to the Security Forces in the North, while engaging in battles with the sea tigers and preventing the gun running activities of the outfit in the Northern and Eastern waters.
The sea tigers remained a nightmare to the SL Navy and the outfit's strength is evident from the vessels it had made on its own and made seaworthy to engage in the battles.
The foreign military experts who have been visiting the Eastern region during the post-war period were even surprised to see the manner the sea tiger ships were designed.
While encountering the LTTE effectively on the land, the outfit's sea tiger wing remained a tough opponent to the SL Navy even sinking some of the Navy vessels.
Therefore, by serving mostly in the North and East Naval bases Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah had been the Eastern Naval Commander of the SL Navy's premier base in China Bay which remained as the nerve centre of several important operations of the Navy in the Eastern waters before assuming duties as the 21st SL Navy Commander.
At his first press briefing Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah even regretted calling him an American Agent due to his brief stint at the US Embassy in Colombo.
Vice Admiral Sinniah would have been called an American Agent, whereas there were several senior officers in the Armed Forces and Police who were denied their due promotions merely for the reason they were Tamils.
A couple of years ago an Old Thomian Premachandra who is a Tamil and reached the position as the Chief of Staff in the Sri Lanka Air Force was not given his next promotion as the Air Force Commander after serving several years during the turbulent period as a veteran pilot.
Late General Anton Muthukumaru, a Tamil being the first Sri Lankan Commander of the Army,
Admiral Rajan Kadirgamar became the first Tamil to be the Navy Commander forty years ago.
The citation of new Navy Commander Vice Admiral Sinniah has highlighted the risks he had taken in battling the sea tigers and ensuring the safe passage of vessels in the Northern and Eastern waters which had been the 'lifeline' of supplies to military installations in the North.
Indian Peace Keeping Force
The new Navy Chief as a young officer had also nabbed ten top LTTE commanders when they were fleeing to South India by sea soon after the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the island in 1987.
In the good old days a large number of Tamils from the North and the East with their excellent background in sports joined the Armed Forces and Police.
The Navy still remembers the late Rajasingham brothers who hailed from Jaffna as efficient and gentlemen officers.
India remains an exemplary country with its multi ethnic background in giving due recognition for those who come from various ethnic and religious backgrounds in the country's Armed Forces.
Nearly five Tamils from the State of Tamil Nadu served as Indian Army Commanders including General Krishnaswamy Sundarji who was the Indian Army Commander when the IPKF arrived in Sri Lanka in 1987.
General Sundarji was also the 'mastermind' of the 'Operation Blue Star' to flush out the Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab in the early eighties.
The present regime in Sri Lanka has given the due recognition to Vice Admiral Sinniah to become the 21st Navy Chief and to be the second Tamil to hold the prestigious position forty years after Admiral Rajan Kadirgamar, the elder brother of late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
The new Chief expressed his views over two important issues in a sensible manner proving his Admiralty.
Commenting on Indian fishermen breaching the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) and infiltration into the Sri Lankan waters the Navy Chief pointed out that instead of dealing in a confrontational manner the Indian fishermen should be given the right guidelines to keep away from the IMBL.
If this new strategy is coordinated properly with the Indian Navy as well as the Indian Coast Guard, the problems faced by the Indian fisherfolk in the Northern waters could be curbed to a great extent.
Finally, commenting on the alleged war crimes accusations against the Security Forces, Vice Admiral Sinniah said that "wearing the uniform doesn't give the sanction to rob, sanction to murder or even sanction to torture".
Proving his Admiralty with the above comment the Navy Chief had also mentioned that he would not attempt to protect anyone found guilty in Court.
The new Navy Chief's comments on alleged war crimes have clearly indicated that after successfully winning a long drawn out separatist war, the right thinking well decorated armed forces personnel won't tolerate good soldiering getting tarnished by the 'black sheep' in uniforms within their institutions.
By Manekshaw-2017-08-26
However, as 'much water has passed under the bridge', it is interesting to see that the 'battle hardened' officers who grew up with the separatist war from the time they had joined the armed forces in the early eighties took up positions as top commanders of the Army, Navy and the Air Force with their vast experiences in sea, air and land battles with one of the deadliest militant outfits in the world, the LTTE.
The 21st Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah, a veteran, played different roles by ensuring the safe sea route for the flotillas carrying supplies to the Security Forces in the North, while engaging in battles with the sea tigers and preventing the gun running activities of the outfit in the Northern and Eastern waters.
The sea tigers remained a nightmare to the SL Navy and the outfit's strength is evident from the vessels it had made on its own and made seaworthy to engage in the battles.
The foreign military experts who have been visiting the Eastern region during the post-war period were even surprised to see the manner the sea tiger ships were designed.
While encountering the LTTE effectively on the land, the outfit's sea tiger wing remained a tough opponent to the SL Navy even sinking some of the Navy vessels.
Therefore, by serving mostly in the North and East Naval bases Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah had been the Eastern Naval Commander of the SL Navy's premier base in China Bay which remained as the nerve centre of several important operations of the Navy in the Eastern waters before assuming duties as the 21st SL Navy Commander.
At his first press briefing Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah even regretted calling him an American Agent due to his brief stint at the US Embassy in Colombo.
Vice Admiral Sinniah would have been called an American Agent, whereas there were several senior officers in the Armed Forces and Police who were denied their due promotions merely for the reason they were Tamils.
A couple of years ago an Old Thomian Premachandra who is a Tamil and reached the position as the Chief of Staff in the Sri Lanka Air Force was not given his next promotion as the Air Force Commander after serving several years during the turbulent period as a veteran pilot.
Late General Anton Muthukumaru, a Tamil being the first Sri Lankan Commander of the Army,
Admiral Rajan Kadirgamar became the first Tamil to be the Navy Commander forty years ago.
The citation of new Navy Commander Vice Admiral Sinniah has highlighted the risks he had taken in battling the sea tigers and ensuring the safe passage of vessels in the Northern and Eastern waters which had been the 'lifeline' of supplies to military installations in the North.
Indian Peace Keeping Force
The new Navy Chief as a young officer had also nabbed ten top LTTE commanders when they were fleeing to South India by sea soon after the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the island in 1987.
In the good old days a large number of Tamils from the North and the East with their excellent background in sports joined the Armed Forces and Police.
The Navy still remembers the late Rajasingham brothers who hailed from Jaffna as efficient and gentlemen officers.
India remains an exemplary country with its multi ethnic background in giving due recognition for those who come from various ethnic and religious backgrounds in the country's Armed Forces.
Nearly five Tamils from the State of Tamil Nadu served as Indian Army Commanders including General Krishnaswamy Sundarji who was the Indian Army Commander when the IPKF arrived in Sri Lanka in 1987.
General Sundarji was also the 'mastermind' of the 'Operation Blue Star' to flush out the Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab in the early eighties.
The present regime in Sri Lanka has given the due recognition to Vice Admiral Sinniah to become the 21st Navy Chief and to be the second Tamil to hold the prestigious position forty years after Admiral Rajan Kadirgamar, the elder brother of late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
The new Chief expressed his views over two important issues in a sensible manner proving his Admiralty.
Commenting on Indian fishermen breaching the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) and infiltration into the Sri Lankan waters the Navy Chief pointed out that instead of dealing in a confrontational manner the Indian fishermen should be given the right guidelines to keep away from the IMBL.
If this new strategy is coordinated properly with the Indian Navy as well as the Indian Coast Guard, the problems faced by the Indian fisherfolk in the Northern waters could be curbed to a great extent.
Finally, commenting on the alleged war crimes accusations against the Security Forces, Vice Admiral Sinniah said that "wearing the uniform doesn't give the sanction to rob, sanction to murder or even sanction to torture".
Proving his Admiralty with the above comment the Navy Chief had also mentioned that he would not attempt to protect anyone found guilty in Court.
The new Navy Chief's comments on alleged war crimes have clearly indicated that after successfully winning a long drawn out separatist war, the right thinking well decorated armed forces personnel won't tolerate good soldiering getting tarnished by the 'black sheep' in uniforms within their institutions.
