COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Siris­e­na on Friday appointed Rear Admiral Travis Sinn­iah, a Sri Lankan Tamil, as the next commander of the Sri Lakan Navy (SLN) in a significant move in promoting post war reconciliation between Sinhalese and Tamils.

An ethnic Tamil is being appointed to this top position after a gap of 47 years. Admiral Sinniah is the second Tamil to hold the top naval post. The last Tamil navy chief was Admiral Rajanathan Kadirgamar, who served from 1960-70.

Adm. Sinniah’s appointment by president Sirisena is specifically significant bec­ause the three wings of the Sri Lankan armed forces have been the exclusive territory of the majority Sinh­alese community from the mid 1960s onwards and increased following the outbreak of war in the 1980s between Tamil Tiger separatists and the state military.

Although there were a very few Tamils in the military, in general, the Sri Lankan Tamils was reluctant to join the military forces because of fear of being targeted by the LTTE and also fear that they would be seen as infiltrators by the army.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2017