Army Commander's Promise To The Nation is the first volume of Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka's own account of the war he led as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army. The cover carries the line that gives the book its spirit, "I Shall Not Leave This War Behind To The Next Commander", and the volume reads as the story of how that promise was kept, told by the man who made it.
Fonseka commanded the army from December 2005 to July 2009, the period of the final campaign against the LTTE that ended the island's 26-year civil war in May 2009. In 2015 he became the first Sri Lankan Army officer to be given the rank of Field Marshal. Few people saw the closing years of the conflict from closer to the centre of decisions, and that vantage point is what this book offers.
The decades of conflict reached every part of Sri Lankan life, and two generations grew up under its shadow. This volume sets out the military campaign that turned the country from sustained violence towards the prospect of peace, with the leadership, resolve and hard choices behind it seen from the commander's side of the table.
The book was launched at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo in June 2024, with the President of Sri Lanka as chief guest. It is a natural read for anyone following modern Sri Lankan history, military leadership, or the end of one of Asia's longest-running wars, and a substantial addition to a shelf of first-hand accounts of the period.
This listing is for Volume 1, shown with its black and gold cover and the author's portrait in dress uniform. It ships from Sri Lanka, packed to protect the corners and spine in transit.
