Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army on Tuesday (20) arrived in Haiti to be warmly received by the acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) and Force Commander of MINUSTAH, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti where a 950-strong Sri Lankan contingent of troops is currently deployed.
The visiting Sri Lanka’s Army Chief with the objective of assessing and inspecting the operational duties of his troops serving the MINUSTAH (Haiti) had a stopover in New York a few days ago and met three senior most UN Peacekeeping officials, including the acting Head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations before his arrival in Haiti.
Keeping to the formal itinerary, in Haiti Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya at first called on the MINUSTAH Force Commander, Major General Luiz Eduardo Ramos Baptista Pereira soon after he exchanged greetings with the Sri Lanka Battalion (SRIBAT) Commander, Colonel Jaliya Senarathna, Sri Lankan Staff Officers and Logestics Officers at the airport’s VIP lounge.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya on arrival was received by the MINUSTAH Military Chief Protocol Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ramesh Thapa according to military traditions and conducted to the VIP lounge to be welcomed by SRIBAT senior officers.
MINUSTAH Force Commander Major General Luiz Eduardo Ramos during his interactive discussions with the Sri Lanka’s Army Chief at MINUSTAH Military Force Headquarters, elaborated on SRIBAT deployment in Haiti, giving specific details, related to operational challenges and difficulties that have to be overcome by SRIBAT troops in areas such as Martissant where the incidence of criminal activities was increasing at a steady rate irrespective of all those constraints, the MINUSTAH Force Commander Major General Ramos, remarked that unique professionalism, displayed at all levels in the SRIBAT, had worked extremely well and Sri Lankan troops were doing a great job at the risk of their own lives, which need to be frankly appreciated acknowledged with gratitude.
The visiting Army Chief during the meeting inquired about possibilities and available means, through which the SRIBAT’s utility could be further harnessed, offering more and more professional inputs to the MINUSTAH in the future. Major General Ramos who appreciated the Commander’s visit to his Headquarters, showing true spirits of mutual co-operation and understanding, added that his timely visit would further enhance the productivity of SRIBAT troops and help promote more and more peacekeeping assignments across the world.
MINUSTAH Force Commander, expressing his appreciation presented a token memento to the visiting Commander of the Army. Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya reciprocated the gesture. Associated with the discussion were Brigadier Nirmal Dharmarathna, Director Operation at Army Headquarters, Colombo, SRIBAT Commander and the Senior Staff Officer.
The MINUSTAH’s Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Mr Nigel Fisher extending a warm welcome to the visiting Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya deeply appreciated the contribution, being made by the SRIBAT for restoration of law and order in Haiti.
During the courtesy call, Mr Fisher who had earlier worked in Sri Lanka as the UNICEF chief refreshed his string of unforgettable memories and wished Sri Lanka a bright future.
Mr Fisher mentioning about the recent UN concept paper on gender balance in UN troop deployments made inquiries from the visiting Army Commander about the possibilities of inclusion of woman troopers in future UN peacekeeping missions.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya during his contribution to the talks highlighted rehabilitation and re-integration processes that have been hitherto implemented effectively in Sri Lanka as regards former child combatants and hardcore terrorists. The visiting Commander, attributing this note worthly rehabilitating feature as unique and unprecedented after ruthless terrorism, told Mr Fisher that wealth of experience gained by this transformation could also be made available for the benefit of interested missions in the future.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya before he bade farewell to Mr Fisher presented a symbolic memento and explained him what has been engrossed in the token since the recipient showed a genuine interest towards it.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
