COLOMBO (PTI): Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah was on Friday appointed as the chief of Sri Lanka's naval forces, making him the first from the minority Tamil community to head the Navy since the brutal civil war erupted in the country 45 years ago.
Sinniah, who played a decisive role in the destruction of the LTTE warships in deep sea during the height of the civil war, was appointed as the Navy chief by President Maithripala Sirisena.
"Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah, who has served Sri Lanka Navy with immense loyalty for many decades, took office as the Navy Commander today," President Sirisena tweeted.
His services will be effective from August 22.
Sinniah succeeds Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne who has retired.
He is the second Tamil to head the Lankan Navy after Rajan Kadirgamar, who was the commander in the late 1960s.
Sinniah is the first from the Tamil community to head the Navy since the outbreak of the civil war in the north and east of the island in 1972.
He successfully commanded a mission in 2007 to destroy the LTTE's weapons smuggling ships in international waters off Indonesia and Australia, that is considered as Sri Lankan Navy's biggest achievement, media reports said.
Sinniah, who joined the Navy in 1982, was the senior most Naval officer to be in active combat operations at sea during the conflict with the LTTE separatists.
It was also announced that Wijegunaratne would be appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
The LTTE waged a war with the government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland in the regions with the conflict ending in 2009. Tamils in the country claim discrimination at the hands of the Sinhala majority.
According to UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces during Rajapaksa's regime that brought an end to the brutal civil war with with the defeat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.
Lanka appoints first Tamil Navy chief after four decades
Article Posted on : - Aug 18, 2017
Other Related News
PM Modi meets top Caribbean leaders, discusses bilateral ties, partnerships for stronger Global South
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the cream of Caribbean leaders on the margins of the India-CARICOM Summit here and discussed strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing cooperation across several key areas towards the empowerment of the Global South.
The Indian Air Force, in its flight trials evaluation report submitted before the Defence Ministry l..
view articleAn insight into the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition...
view articleSky enthusiasts can now spot the International Space Station (ISS) commanded by Indian-American astr..
view article