The 24th commemoration ceremony of the Special Task Force (STF) war heroes will be held tomorrow at the Katukurunda Training School, with special religious ceremonies at the Jayasri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura and the Veherahena Temple in Matara to mark the event.
Another religious ceremony will be held at the Dalada Maligawa, Kandy on Wednesday in connection with this event. Parents, children, widows and relatives of STF personnel killed in action are expected to take part in the ceremonies.
Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramaratne, DIG Administrative Mahinda Balasuriya and STF Chief DIG K. M. L. Sarathchandra will preside at tomorrow’s ceremony.
The STF was formed in 1983 with a team of 60 police officers with the main objective of assisting the Police and Army in anti-terrorism activities. The then government deployed these personnel in the Jaffna peninsula and the North and East on duty.
On September 1, 1984 in Tikkam, Jaffna, LTTE cadres ambushed and exploded a truck carrying STF personnel on duty in the Jaffna peninsula. PC 4100 Ekanayake, PC 2539 Mathupala, PC 3928 Nanayakkara and PC Driver 13029 Sumanasekara laid down their lives for the country as a result of this attack. To mark this incident, a series of religious ceremonies is held on September 1 every year.
Since the inception of the STF, 421 of its personnel and six civil personnel have sacrificed their lives in defence of the country. |
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