Army Brigadier Larry Wijeratne is killed by a suicide bomber.

Source
The Drift in Jaffna: The Urgency of a Political Settlement and the importance of Larry Wijeratne’s Legacy, Information Bulletin No. 18, University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), 8 July 1998.

Extract from UTHR report
“The most remarkable event in the whole war is surely the manner in which the Vadamaratchy sector remained in two years of military control what an outsider described as ‘a breath of fresh air’ in the entire war-torn North-East. Of course there were confrontations, search operations and some army misbehaviour as was to be expected. But the people remained confident under their brigade commander Larry Wijeratne, that their interests, their dignity, and their well-being would receive greater consideration than any short-term advantage to the army. People said very enthusiastically that ‘as long as Wijeratne is here, we have nothing to worry about’. To Wijeratne himself this involved hard work and several risks. He frequently went out, conferred with people, tried to help out with their problems, and kept himself abreast of what was going on in his brigade division from not just a military man’s angle, but also from a human perspective. Even militarily he took calculated risks in the interest of winning the support of the people. He made a case for handling the situation in a humane manner and stopped the Special Forces Brigade, who were reputed to be ruffians, functioning in his area. He had minors released who were caught helping the LTTE. On his own initiative he initiated schemes to help youth who showed themselves capable in studies and also arranged programmes for the youth of Vadamaratchy to interact with youth from the South. All this paid military dividends too, but that is a different story.

“Although a prime target, the LTTE could not get him while he was alert on active duty. The people were confident that if there was any problem, they could go direct to him. The LTTE tried spreading rumours to discredit him, such as the blatant lie of his involvement in the Kokkadichcholai massacre of June 1991. About a month before he was killed, the LTTE’s overseas networks were full of a story of a woman being raped by soldiers in Vadamaratchy, and her sister who went to complain being burnt along with a shop. The story was without substance.

“The LTTE were able to get him on 14th May, when he had ceased to be on active duty, while attending farewell functions hosted by the people and his guard was down. The LTTE was initially annoyed that the Pt.Pedro traders’ association were giving him a farewell lunch. It is conceivable that they later stopped interfering and merely monitored the arrangements to set a trap.

“When he returned from the lunch a large group of people were waiting to meet him a short distance from the camp. One lady for example was a widow whose son had been helped with educational arrangements by the brigadier. As he passed this group, he exchanged greetings. The vehicle then turned from the town square into the road leading to the camp when an explosion was heard. The suicide bomber was said to be a youth of about 21 who was loitering about that area in a rain coat – it being a rainy day – and was not taken much notice of. Many civilians through sheer grief rushed to the area, which was about the entrance to the camp. Finally a soldier had to slap a civilian to clear the place for an army survey team from Palaly.

“A particular significance of the event should not be missed. This was the first time since the breakdown of communal relations that the death of a Sinhalese soldier had been so deeply and spontaneously mourned by the Tamil population. Instead of recognising the momentousness of Larry Wijeratne’s Legacy, some in the army started talking and behaving as though the people were responsible for the murder, which was absolute nonsense. As subsequent events indicated, the threat to this valuable legacy was very real. …

“The Government needs to do something quickly to reassure the people of Jaffna, and particularly the people of Vadamaratchy that the high standards set by Brigadier Larry Wijeratne will be maintained.” UTHR (J), 8 July 1998.