W. I. M. Seneviratne
Encyclopedia
Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne PWV
(c. 1968 – July 4, 1996) was a Sri Lanka
n soldier. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 1987, Seneviratne served during the Sri Lankan Civil War
. On July 4, 1996, while providing security to visiting Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva
in the northern city of Jaffna
, Seneviratne sacrificed his life to thwart a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber from assassinating Minister de Silva. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
, the highest military decoration
awarded for gallantry in Sri Lanka.
farmers in Kobeigane, Kurunegala
. Seneviratne studied up to his Ordinary Level
s at Parakrama Maha Vidyalaya in Kobeigana. Having wanted to join the Sri Lanka Army since childhood, Seneviratne enlisted in the Army 1987, joining the 7th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry
. After receiving training at the Army Training School in Maduru Oya, Seneviratne served in Trincomalee
, Ampara
and Jaffna
during the course of the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was injured three times, twice at Elephant Pass
and once and Palaly.
After being under the control of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(Tamil Tigers) organization since the late 1980s, Jaffna
, the largest city in the north of Sri Lanka was liberated by the Sri Lanka Army
in 1995. Seneviratne was assigned to the 51st Division as a member of the Army Quick Reaction Team (QRT) in Jaffna, which consisted of motorbike mounted troops.
. The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Northern Rehabilitation, de Silva was visiting Jaffna to supervise on-going reconstruction projects. Arriving in Jaffna at 9am, the minister participated in a discussion related to the reconstruction of Jaffna, followed by free book distribution ceremony at the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna. He then proceeded to a new Building Materials Corporation (BMC) outlet on Stanley Road, one of a string of such outlets in the north.
After the ceremonial opening of the outlet, de Silva proceeded towards his Mitsubishi Pajero
vehicle belonging to the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps to continue onto a meeting with officers in charge of rehabilitation work at the Jaffna Kachcheri. His vehicle was to be driven by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army 512 Brigade and Brigade Commander for Jaffna, Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda. De Silva was to sit in the passenger seat alongside Brigadier Hamangoda, while Ranjit Godamuduna, chairman of Lanka Cement Ltd, and a body guard were to sit in the back.
As de Silva was boarding the vehicle around 12:45pm, a seemingly pregnant woman dressed in a white blouse with two bags in her hand moved forward from the crown and approached the entourage. Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne was astride his bike around 20 meters behind de Silva’s vehicle, along with another QRT soldier, Private Pushpakumara. Suspecting the woman was a suicide bomber, Seneviratne immediately maneuvered his bike to block her path. With nowhere to go, the woman detonated the explosives strapped onto her body, killing herself and Seneviratne instantly.
cement factory, and was in Jaffna setting the stage for the arrival of a group of foreign engineers. Carlyle Dias, a retired Senior Superintendent of Police who came out of retirement to serve as the Civil Affairs Officer (CAO) in Jaffna, and BMC official Mr. A.A. Dissanayake were also among 11 civilians killed in the blast.
Minister de Silva suffered injuries to his forehead, and was taken to the Palaly military hospital for emergency treatment. He recovered from his injuries, and is currently Minister of Irrigation and Water Management in the government of Sri Lanka. Describing the suicide attack, Sunday Times columnist Iqbal Athas
wrote
For sacrificing his life to save Minister de Silva, Lance Corporal Seneviratne was recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
by his Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. K.A.D.A. Karunasekera. The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya is the highest award for gallantry presented by the Sri Lanka Army. On October 10, 1998, the medal was presented to Seneviratne’s mother by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga
.
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
(c. 1968 – July 4, 1996) was a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n soldier. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 1987, Seneviratne served during the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
. On July 4, 1996, while providing security to visiting Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva
Nimal Siripala De Silva
Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva MP is the Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and a Member of Parliament representing the Badulla District....
in the northern city of Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, Seneviratne sacrificed his life to thwart a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber from assassinating Minister de Silva. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
, the highest military decoration
Military decoration
A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....
awarded for gallantry in Sri Lanka.
Background
W.I.M Seneviratne was born to a family of paddyRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
farmers in Kobeigane, Kurunegala
Kurunegala
Kurunegala , is the capital of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was also an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 13th century. The town itself is a busy commercial and a transport hub...
. Seneviratne studied up to his Ordinary Level
Ordinary Level
The O-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education . It was introduced as part of British educational reform in the 1950s alongside the more in-depth and academically rigorous Advanced Level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland A-level...
s at Parakrama Maha Vidyalaya in Kobeigana. Having wanted to join the Sri Lanka Army since childhood, Seneviratne enlisted in the Army 1987, joining the 7th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry
Sri Lanka Light Infantry
The Sri Lanka Light Infantry is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of ten regular battalions, five volunteer battalions. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda...
. After receiving training at the Army Training School in Maduru Oya, Seneviratne served in Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, Ampara
Ampara
Ampara is a remote city on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, about 360 km from the capital city of Colombo. It belongs to the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It was a part of the domain of Kavantissa and was then known as "Ambaragama", which over the years changed to Ambara to Ampara...
and Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
during the course of the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was injured three times, twice at Elephant Pass
Elephant Pass
Elephant Pass, Northern Province, Sri Lanka is an important military base and formerly the island's largest salt field, located in the gateway of Jaffna Peninsula. It has thus regularly been the site of battles during the civil war....
and once and Palaly.
After being under the control of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
(Tamil Tigers) organization since the late 1980s, Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, the largest city in the north of Sri Lanka was liberated by the Sri Lanka Army
Operation Riviresa
Operation Riviresa , was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Jaffna. Starting on the 17 October 1995, the primary objective of the operation was the capture of the town of Jaffna and rest of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE...
in 1995. Seneviratne was assigned to the 51st Division as a member of the Army Quick Reaction Team (QRT) in Jaffna, which consisted of motorbike mounted troops.
Suicide attack
On July 4, 1996, Seneviratne was assigned to provide protection to the Minister of Housing and Public Utilities, Nimal Siripala de SilvaNimal Siripala De Silva
Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva MP is the Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and a Member of Parliament representing the Badulla District....
. The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Northern Rehabilitation, de Silva was visiting Jaffna to supervise on-going reconstruction projects. Arriving in Jaffna at 9am, the minister participated in a discussion related to the reconstruction of Jaffna, followed by free book distribution ceremony at the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna. He then proceeded to a new Building Materials Corporation (BMC) outlet on Stanley Road, one of a string of such outlets in the north.
After the ceremonial opening of the outlet, de Silva proceeded towards his Mitsubishi Pajero
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which is native to the Patagonia plateau region of southern Argentina. However, since pajero is an offensive term for "wanker" in Spanish, alternative names have...
vehicle belonging to the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps to continue onto a meeting with officers in charge of rehabilitation work at the Jaffna Kachcheri. His vehicle was to be driven by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army 512 Brigade and Brigade Commander for Jaffna, Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda. De Silva was to sit in the passenger seat alongside Brigadier Hamangoda, while Ranjit Godamuduna, chairman of Lanka Cement Ltd, and a body guard were to sit in the back.
As de Silva was boarding the vehicle around 12:45pm, a seemingly pregnant woman dressed in a white blouse with two bags in her hand moved forward from the crown and approached the entourage. Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne was astride his bike around 20 meters behind de Silva’s vehicle, along with another QRT soldier, Private Pushpakumara. Suspecting the woman was a suicide bomber, Seneviratne immediately maneuvered his bike to block her path. With nowhere to go, the woman detonated the explosives strapped onto her body, killing herself and Seneviratne instantly.
Aftermath
23 people were killed in the blast, and 59 were wounded. Among the dead were Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda, de Silva’s security office Police Constable Banda and the chairman of Lanka Cement Ranjit Godamuduna, all of whom were inside the same vehicle as the Minister. An experienced planter and a director of a Colombo brokering firm, Godamuduna was spearheading a program to re-commission the KankesanthuraiKankesanthurai
Kankesanthurai or KKS , is a town with a harbour in the northern Sri Lankan city of Jaffna. It is the location of the Sri Lanka Navy naval base, SLNS Uttara. At present it is in the High Security Zone declared by the security forces of Sri Lanka. India helps in port's restoration...
cement factory, and was in Jaffna setting the stage for the arrival of a group of foreign engineers. Carlyle Dias, a retired Senior Superintendent of Police who came out of retirement to serve as the Civil Affairs Officer (CAO) in Jaffna, and BMC official Mr. A.A. Dissanayake were also among 11 civilians killed in the blast.
Minister de Silva suffered injuries to his forehead, and was taken to the Palaly military hospital for emergency treatment. He recovered from his injuries, and is currently Minister of Irrigation and Water Management in the government of Sri Lanka. Describing the suicide attack, Sunday Times columnist Iqbal Athas
Iqbal Athas
Iqbal Athas is a Sri Lankan journalist who sometimes contributes to CNN. Athas was the defence columnist for the Sunday Times and he also contributed to Jane's Defence Weekly...
wrote
For sacrificing his life to save Minister de Silva, Lance Corporal Seneviratne was recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
by his Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. K.A.D.A. Karunasekera. The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya is the highest award for gallantry presented by the Sri Lanka Army. On October 10, 1998, the medal was presented to Seneviratne’s mother by Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga born June 29, 1945) was the 4th Executive president of Sri Lanka, serving from November 12, 1994 to November 19, 2005. The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until end of 2005...
.