Memoirs of Mullaitivu

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... the officer who was selected to be the first Government Agent of the new District was Austin Jayawardene, the Additional Government Agent of Mannar.

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D. Wijesinghe

Now that Mullaitivu is back under Government control after 13 years, it may be of interest to know how the District of Mullaitivu was established 30 years ago, in 1979. This is how I have narrated the event in my memoirs published in 2008.

Finding a building for the other new Kachcheri at Mullaitivu in the Northern Province was not a problem, because with the request for the new District was the understanding that the existing Divisional AGA Office will be converted into the Kachcheri, pending the construction of a new building. But putting the District 'together' was like a jig-saw puzzle. It had to take AGA Divisions from all the existing three Districts of the Province, namely Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mannar.

Fortunately, the officer who was selected to be the first Government Agent of the new District was Austin Jayawardene, the Additional Government Agent of Mannar. He was a sturdy fellow, well used to working in rough terrain and familiar with the area. But, before setting up the Kachcheri, I was particular to see the District for myself. So, two days earlier, I went to Vavuniya and stayed with Austin at the Rest House and the next day, we visited all the Divisional AGA offices that would now come under the new district. Having returned to base (Vavuniya) late in the evening, we set out the next morning for Mullaitivu, to open the new Kachcheri. Going by the standards set for the opening the Kachcheri for the other new district, that of Gampaha, this should have been a grand affaire, with at least the Minister in-charge of Home Affairs officiating. Unfortunately, he or his Deputy could not make it to distant Mullaitivu. The Secretary, DBIPS Siriwardhana, would have been the last to willingly attend any ceremony. So, it fell on me, the mere SAS, to officiate on behalf of the Central Government.

I, together with the newly appointed Government Agent, Austin Jayawardene and the Member of Parliament of the area, late X.M. Sellatambu, did the needful. It may be mentioned that Sellatambu, the MP, himself had been a public servant - in fact, a Divisional Revenue Officer (prior to the conversion of that office to that of D/AGA), before he took to politics. Though a member of the opposition TULF (or the Federal Party), he was very co-operative with public servants both at the centre and the periphery. Having finished the opening ceremony and a late sumptuous lunch at the Mullaitivu Rest House, Austin and I came back to Vavuniya. There, I spent the night, but Austin proceeded to Mannar, as he had some unfinished work to attend to, before settling down to his new duties in the new District. This detail I mention to illustrate how different the times were. The previous day, we were able to traverse the entire length and breadth of four Divisions in three Districts of the Northern Province, without any escort.

On this particular day, having reached Vavuniya late in the evening, my friend and colleague was proceeding from there to Mannar, on his own, only with the driver. Today, except for sections of Vavuniya and Mannar Districts, which are nominally under Government control, the entire area (that we traversed and more) is under the thumb of the LTTE, in fact a 'rogue state', recognised by the Government of Sri Lanka, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of February, 2002.