27th March 2018 15:06:35 Hours
The Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake made his inaugural visit to 22 Division Headquarters on 24 March 2018. On his arrival to the premises, the Comd SF (East) Major General Santhusitha Pananwala and GOC 22 Division Major General Aruna Jayasekara extended a warm welcome to him.
The programme commenced with a Bodhi Pooja at Gokanna Viharaya Trincomalee organized by Officers of Officer Cadet Intake 27.
After the Bodhi Pooja, the Commander had a courtesy audience with His Eminence Rev Dr. Noel Emmanuel, the Bishop of Trincomalee Diocese at the Bishop’s House. Both of them shared general views in relation to most recent outbreaks of violence that recently occurred in Amparai and Kandy and discussed the necessity to curb such trends before they develop into bigger issues. The Lordship also expressed his satisfaction over the manner in which the unrest in Kandy was brought under control with minimum force.
The Commander of the Army then called on Most Rev. Ahungalle Siriseelawisuddhi Mahanayaka Thero (also known as Uppuveli Thero) and discussed matters in relation to ethnic harmony and reconciliation in Trincomalee.
At GOC’s briefing, Major General Aruna Jayasekara briefed the proactive and reactive measures taken in Divisional Area of Responsibility in order to maintain ethnic harmony in length. At the end, the Commander of the Army explained the appropriate measures taken by the troops and as to how they are needed to be geared up to be proactive on any such occurrences relating to the recent incidents that took place in Amparai and Kandy. Further, he reiterated the fact that army should be at its highest degree of discipline and praised the commitment towards nation building activities at large.
In his address to a large gathering of Officers and Other Ranks at the 22 Division Gymnasium, the Commander of the Army emphasized the essence of having moral and physical strength of the soldier to face future challenges. At last, Major General Aruna Jayasekara, the Commander 22 Division awarded a memento to the Commander of the Army as a token of appreciation on his visit to the 22 Division.
