Opinion

Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa:

Finest war hero in contemporary history

by K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

During Sri Lanka’s three decades of terror, there had been many military leaders who had tried their utmost to get rid of the LTTE. From the days of the late President J.R. Jayewardene, successive executive Presidents made every effort to find a permanent solution to terrorism in Sri Lanka.

All Executive Presidents, including the incumbent, held peace talks with the LTTE. But the Tigers made use of these opportunities to strengthen their military capability, rather than making a sincere effort to find a negotiated settlement.

When the peace talks failed, all these leaders of Sri Lanka had tried to crush the LTTE militarily. There had been a few notable military operations under dynamic military leaders in the past. All these operations against the LTTE had a premature death, some on the verge of capturing LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

All those past Executive Presidents of the country succumbed to international pressure and were compelled to abandon those military operations when the Security Forces were on the verge of winning those operations. The most notable senior army officer who had given praiseworthy leadership to the Security Forces before President Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office in 2005 was Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa.

Twenty-first death anniversary

The nation marked the 21st death anniversary of the late Lieutenant General Kobbekaduwa, one of the finest War Heroes in our contemporary history. Lieutenant General Kobbekaduwa, along with few other subordinate military officers made the supreme sacrifice when the ruthless LTTE terrorists activated a blast against their vehicle on August 8, 1992.

His leadership and command brought countless notable victories to the Sri Lanka Army during the early military operations against the LTTE terrorists. Lieutenant General Kobbekaduwa’s victorious pulse fell silent exactly 21 years ago with his fellow-military veterans, while they were on a military assignment close to Araly Point in Kayts, Jaffna.

Major General Wijaya Wimalarathne, Rear Admiral Mohan Jayamaha, Lieutenant Colonel H.R Stephen, Lieutenant Colonel G. H. Ariyarathne, Lieutenant Colonel Y N Palipana, Commander Asanga Lankathilaka, Lieutenant Colonel Nalin de Alwis, Lieutenant Commander C. B. Wijepura and the Private W J Wickremasinghe were the others in the vehicle.

Political leadership

A product of Trinity College, Kandy, Lt Gen Kobbekaduwa joined the Sri Lanka Army on May 25, 1960. On successful completion of basic military training at the Army Training centre, he left for the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK. He was commissioned in the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps as a Second Lieutenant on August 3, 1962.

The nation would never forget the praise-worthy service rendered by the great heroes. Lt Gen Kobbekaduwa would have been still alive if he had a political leadership such as President Rajapaksa. The nation would have got rid of the LTTE much earlier and thousands of more lives would have been saved if President Rajapaksa’s political leadership had been there when Lt Gen Kobbekaduwa had led the Security Forces in the battlefront.

Nevertheless, the nation was able to give a better meaning to those great scarifices made by giant war heroes such as Lt Gen Kobbekaduwa and Brigadier Wimalaratne after President Rajapaksa assumed office.

But certain countries in the West and some international organisatons work on a secret agenda to undermine Sri Lanka’s hard-earned peace. They often attempt to intimidate Sri Lanka and meddle in the country’s internal affair.

The battle against terrorism was won to establish long-term peace and progress. It’s time now to learn from the experience of others. The country faced the vagaries of a virtual civil war and an unremitting spate of suicide attacks for nearly three decades.

Short cuts

However, Sri Lanka fought its way out of this quagmire, thanks to the right military strategies of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the political sagacity of President Rajapaksa. All past Executive Presidents looked for short cuts to achieve peace, some even gave money, cement and arms to be in the good books of Prabhakaran. They were even ready to let Prabhakaran run the North, provided the terrorist outfit did not explode bombs in the South.

The Tiger separatists had turned into a professional combat machine and were able to raise a well-trained infantry, artillery, naval gunships and a fleet of stealth boats. They were also able to form death squads of suicide bombers, which carried out deadly and merciless operations.

Prabhakaran had given a blank cheque to his goons to gun him down if he ever wavered in their cause. The Tigers were able to gain control of the Jaffna peninsula, imposing heavy local taxes. The LTTE ran their own affairs in a virtual defacto state in the areas held by them. The civilians who lived in these areas were forcibly held as a human shield so that the Security Forces are unable to fire.

Elaborate financial network

It was under such circumstances and an era filled with uncertainty and a near-collapsing economy that President Rajapaksa first assumed office on November 18, 2005.

The Tamil Diaspora, which is spread across the world from Australasia to the Carribbean, is known as one of the most industrious and enterprising ethnic stocks, pumping millions of dollars to LTTE coffers. The LTTE cohorts boasted of an elaborate and wealthy financial network spread over money markets, real estate and retail businesses.

The LTTTE ran their own offices wherever the Tamil Diaspora was concentrated. That helped the terror outfit to receive generous contributions to their military operations. But it took little over three years under President Rajapaksa’s leadership to bring Prabhakaran’s position from hero to zero.

LTTE terrorist leader Prabhakaran was called a ‘supremo’ then and none in their wildest dreams ever thought that the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit could ever be beaten with Sri Lanka’s limited military resources, compared to the most sophisticated weapons the Tigers had acquired from the West.

Gigantic task

Even when the most powerful armies in the world fared miserably in the worldwide battle against terrorism, bobody anybody thought that Sri Lanka could achieve that gigantic task. Their doubts and reservations too were reasonable.

But by May, 2009, Sri Lanka set new world standards in eradication of terrorism. The country’s Security Forces finally vanquished the LTTE leadership and ushered peace for all communities to live in peace and harmony. This could not have been achieved but for the political leadership of President Rajapaksa which had been a tower of strength to the Security Forces in their battle against terror.

Unity among communities and religious harmony are vital factors in the country’s progress. Divisions among these groups will only strengthen various hostile forces seeking to derail the nation’s development and tarnish its image. When one and all rise in unity sans differences, the forces hostile to the country will be weakened and development and peace further strengthened.

The Government has always acted to ensure religious co-existence with firm determination and a clear commitment to national unity.Despite these efforts, there were some hostile forces who have been trying to create the impression that there was religious tensions and violence in the country through some foreign media and news websites.

Peace

There are certain elements who were trying to create unrest within the country at times using false propaganda to create a wrong impression in the minds of the people. Even when the LTTE was at its peak, The Government had not allowed any damage to occur to religious places. Now with peace firmly being established, the Government will ensure that such incidents will not happen at any cost. Once the motives about those elements making false and malicious accusations against the country is revealed, everything will be put to rest once and for all. President Rajapaksa and his Government has ensured that the country cannot be divided on ethnic or religious grounds. There should be no room for racism and extremism to surface again.

After a long drawn battle against terrorism, Sri Lanka today is a nation where all communities can live together, enjoying their rights equally. The Government has ensured that all people get equal opportunities and facilities irrespective of where they live. In all matters the Government strives to achieve equity.

CHOGM

With the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka later this year, various disgruntled elements, both here and abroad, are making every effort to discredit Sri Lanka and to tarnish the country’s image in the eyes of the international community.

The 2013 CHOGM is a long term investment by the country which will help us achieve many of the nation’s targets. It is one of the biggest international conferences held in the world, second only to the United Nations General Assembly sessions. It is easily the biggest international summit ever to be held in Sri Lanka after the 1976 Non-Aligned Conference in Colombo.

The Heads of State and Leaders of over 50 countries would attend this conference with more than 1,000 other participants. A major benefit of hosting CHOGM is that media personnel, business community, industrialists, artistes, politicians, investors etc would accompany these Heads of State and Government from over 50 countries. The attention of people in over 50 countries would be drawn to Sri Lanka during the CHOGM.

This would therefore boost the country’s image abroad and certainly be a feather in Sri Lanka’s cap. Many countries in the Commonwealth were vying to host the CHOGM, though Sri Lanka has been successful at the end.

The CHOGM 2013 will give a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to showcase its landmark achievements since the terrorism was eradicated. The people of over 50 countries will learn of what Sri Lanka has to offer to the world and share its expertise in counter terrorism.

At the same time, disgruntled elements could make use of the opportunity to paint a gloomy picture. This is where we have to be careful. With the support of opportunist politicians in the Opposition, these elements could creep in indifferent forms. All communities should keep a vigil eye to prevent disgruntled elements from robbing Sri Lanka’s hard-earned peace.

It is the duty of all communities to make a tangible contribution in the reconciliation process so that peace we have achieved would remain forever.