A political rebel and an army intelligence officer

Two of my good news contacts died last week. I covered the two occasions Anura Bandaranaike rebelled against his mother Sirimavo Bandaranaike over the question of succession. In 1982, the first instance, I covered his press conference held at Maithripala Senanayake’s Galle Face Court Flat. In 1993, I covered Anura’s arrival from London to join President D.B. Wijetunga’s cabinet.

I came into contact with Major General Sarath Munasinghe when he was the military spokesman. I met him every Wednesday for several years at the post cabinet press briefing and after his retirement I proof-read his book, ‘A Soldier’s Version.’ We talked about several things including the death of Seelan (Charles Anthony) and Rohana Wijeweera.

Anura and Sarath impacted Sri Lankan history in several ways. Anura rebelled because he felt that as the male heir of the Bandaranaike family he was entitled to inherit the leadership to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party his father founded. He genuinely felt that his sister Chandrika sidelined him.

During the informal chat with pressmen after the 1982 press briefing, Anura talked about the childhood rivalry he had with Chandrika. He said unlike his elder sister Sunethra, who gave everything she had to him, Chandrika grabbed everything from him. “Now she is trying to grab my position and give to that fellow.” That sentence is etched in my mind as that sense of grievance shaped Anura’s political career.

In 1993, I was at the airport to interview him. There was a massive crowd and I shouted, “I want an interview.” “Saba! Come home,” he shouted back.

I went to Rosemead Place with my colleague W.G. Gooneratne, then News Editor, Dinamina. There too was a huge crowd. Dr. Rajitha Senaratna spotted us and took us in through the back door. In that interview too Anura said. “She has come back to grasp my place,” referring to Chandrika’s return from London and rejoining the SLFP.

Sarath Munasinghe was put in charge of the Army Intelligence Unit in Jaffna in September 1982. He was tasked with the protection of the Jaffna city. On October 27, the LTTE attacked the Chavakachcheri Police station, killed two policemen and a civilian and escaped with weapons. Seelan (Charles Anthony) who was from Trincomalee and led the LTTE group was shot in the knee. He was taken to Madurai for treatment and returned to Jaffna in June 1983. Militant activity increased after his return.

Munasinghe received information that Seelan was operating in the Meesalai area. On July 15, 1983 he received definite information that he was operating from a house in a coconut estate in the Meesalai-Kachchai road where a toilet was being constructed.

Munasinghe led the raid. They hijacked a civilian bus and travelled in it in civilian dress. Munasinghe drove it. Their search to locate the hideout failed. They went up to the beach along the Meesalai-Kachchai road, stayed at the beach for a while and returned. It was getting dark.

“While I took a turn I noticed three men, two in army type uniform, riding on two bicycles. The man on the pillion had a gun,” Munasinghe told me. “I braked as I neared them. Commandos jumped out shooting. The three men jumped out of their bicycles, leapt over the fence and ran through an open flat ground. One of them was shot. He fell dead. The other two ran and I saw another falling. The third ran away though he got a shot, Munasinghe said.
“We handed over the two bodies to the Jaffna Hospital and when one of the bodies was identified as that of Seelan we rejoiced,” Munasinghe said. Seelan was deputy to Prabhakaran.

Seelan was not shot by the army as Munasinghe originally believed. Subsequent investigations revealed that Seelan fell because he could not run due to his knee injury that had not been completely cured. Aruna who ran with him was Seelan’s boyhood friend from Trincomalee. Aruna tried to pull Seelan but he could not move.

Seelan turned to Aruna and told him, “Shoot me. I don’t want to be caught alive,”

Aruna was shocked. He did not react.
“Don’t delay, Shoot me.”
Aruna did not respond still.
“As your leader I am ordering. Shoot.”
Aruna shot him and ran away.

The man who fell dead earlier was Ananthan.

Nine days later, on July 23, Prabhakaran took revenge with the Thirunelveli attack on the army patrol killing 13 soldiers. The July riots that followed and its consequences changed Sri Lankan history.

Munasinghe was the last person to talk to Rohana Wijeweera before he was killed. He told me that he was asked to interrogate Wijeweera about his activities.

“I was about to leave after questioning, when Rohana held my hand and said they are going to kill me. I did not say anything. He asked me whether I could do him a favour. I said I would try. He gave me a message to his wife,” Munasinghe told me.

I did not ask him what that message was and whether he delivered it.

Munasinghe was present when Wijeweera was taken blindfolded to the Colombo Golf Course. He did not accompany the assassination squad. (Read pages 35 and 36 of his book).

The only information I can add is that he was shot pointblank on his forehead.