An adventure at Vadamarachi and warm relations with Gamini Dissanayake

(Excerpted from In Pursuit of Governance, autobigraphy of MDD Pieris)

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In May 1987 an attack by the armed forces on the LTTE stronghold of Vadamarachi in Jaffna took place under the leadership of two of Sri Lanka's best generals, General Denzil Kobbekaduwe and General Vijaya Wimalaratne.

The overall Commander of the operation was the able General Cyril Ranatunge who was at the time Commander, Joint Operations Command, who personally coordinated operations. The operation was a great success and substantial areas under the LTTE including the island's northernmost city of Point Pedro came under army control.

After the stabilization of the ground situation there, the government decided to send in a team of senior Secretaries in order to restore civilian administration and address the needs of the people. I was among those who were flown by air force planes to Palaly and then by helicopters to Point Pedro, where we were due to meet with a representative group of citizens including presidents of cooperative societies, former heads of local authorities, school principals and others. We were sent in early in the morning with instructions to start the meeting. Several Ministers, including Mr. Lalith Athulathmudali and Mr. Gamani Jayasuriya were to fly in later in the morning in order to participate.

When we arrived in Point Pedro, we saw the scars of battle on trees and buildings. Part of the school where the meeting was held, Hartley College, was also damaged. Some soldiers were bathing in the sea. Perhaps because the most critical issue was the stabilization of the food situation, I was appointed by my fellow Secretaries to chair the meeting. With their assistance we succeeded in making rapid progress and by the time the Ministers came there was nothing for them to decide. We merely briefed them, and they had a general dialogue with those assembled.

An unexpected adventure