RANJITH SOYSA

It was on 8^th of August, 1992 – 22 years ago- the Lt Gen Denzil Kobbekaduwa;was lost to the Nation as result of a remote controlled land mine at Arali in Jaffna while planning for Operation Countdown to wrest the control of peninsula.

He joined the Army in May 1960 as an officer Cadet at the age of 20 years and entered the Sandhurst Military Academy for officer training. He assumed duties in Sri Lanka Armoured Corps He was sent on a compulsory leave following allegations of attempted coup d’etat in 1966 .but, was recalled to the service as a Major having cleared of all charges in 1970.He then functioned in Jaffna as a senior member involved in combating illicit immigration of Indian Tamils under the Ta FAII operations. Subsequently, he was transferred to the Army HQ and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in mid 1980s and became one of the most important army officers to activate the countering of terrorist operations of the LTTE.

His fight against the LTTE commenced when he successfully cleared the Eastern region and halted the expansion of the LTTE. Then he was moved to Jaffna where he skilfully managed the Operation Liberation also popularly known as Vadamarachchi Operation. The operation had 8000 armed personnel with 3 brigades and commenced in May 1987. After clearing a large area of land and when the forces were on the verge of capturing the LTTE chief Prabahkaran India invaded Sri Lankan skies and the President J.R.Jayawradene terminated the Vadamarchchi operations providing space for the LTTE to subsequently to re-gather and revamp its killing machine,

Among the other notable operations carried out under the valiant leadership of Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa were Operation Gajasinghe and Operation Balvegaya

He was well loved by the army men and women as he was a gentleman to his finger tips and as he spent timer looking after the welfare of the cadres and into their grievances. He always exerted his efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people who were liberated from the enemy and very often skilfully dragged the war front away from the centres of population to minimize the destabilization of civilians. He involved himself with the civil co-ordinators in fulfilling the expectations of the ordinary citizens with regard to the provision of food, health requirements and educational needs while helping to improve the irrigation facilities and roads.

He flew to Karinagar Navel base on 7^th August 1992  and was planning the offensive under Operation Balavegya with Brigadier Vijaya Wimalaratne and Commodore Mohan Jayamaha and decided to visit Araly point the following day. On 8^th of August 1992 Major Gen Kobbekaduwa and other officers got into a vehicle to avoid enemy fire and conferred at Araly Point. While returning a land mine exploded and a number of officers including the Brigadier Vijaya Wimalartne was killed on the spot. Major General Denzil Kebbekaduwa died while receiving medical treatment at Colombo General Hospital on 8^th August 1992.

He was posthumously promoted to the Lt General rank and awarded the Visista Seva Vibhusnaya and Rana Sura medals.

At a time when the demand for separatism is gaining ground slowly but surely, the Sri Lankans should strive to learn from the legacy left by late Lt General Denzil Kobbekaduwa to function as a stealth counterweight to all divisions.