Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
B.B. Susantha Mendis,
USP (1951 – 11 September 1998) was a senior
Sri Lanka Army general, who was the former Commanding Officer of 51-2 Brigade based in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
.
Heroes who made the supreme sacrifice
/ref>
Early life and education
Mendis was educated at St Sylvester's College, Kandy.
Military career
He joined the Sri Lanka Army as an officer cadet and received his basic officer training at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa
The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...
. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the Sinha Regiment
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry re ...
. During his career he held many positions within the army including that of Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, Sri Lanka Singh Regiment. Brigadier Mendis was Commanding Officer of 51-2 Brigade attached to the 51 Division.
Death
On 11 September 1998, he attended a meeting at the office of the Mayor of Jaffna to discuss traffic arrangements in the town of Jaffna. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE) detonated a bomb in the office killing 12 persons including Brigadier Mendis, Mayor Pon Sivapalan
Pon Sivapalan (1952 – 11 September 1998) was a Sri Lankan politician.
Sivapalan succeeded Sarojini Yogeswaran as mayor of Jaffna after she was assassinated in 1998 by the LTTE. Like Yogeswaran, Sivapalan belonged to the Tamil United Liberat ...
, SSP Chandra Perera, Captain Ramanayaka, the Brigadier's Principal Staff Officer (PSO) and four police officers. Also killed were S Pathamanathan, Commissioner for Rehabilitation of the Jaffna Municipality and Architect Mallika Rajaratnam. Brigadier Mendis was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
.
External links
Official Website of Sri Lanka Army
Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka
MIC-Military Intelligence Corps
References
* ttp://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_98/asia.htm Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1998 Asia Overview* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040712041427/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG10Df03.html Tigers send a deadly message, By Sudha Ramachandran*
The Larry Wijeratne That I Knew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendis, Susantha
1950 births
1998 deaths
Sri Lankan major generals
Sinhalese military personnel
Assassinated military personnel
Assassinated Sri Lankan people
Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1998
Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates
People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War