Amal Karunasekara

Last updated

Major General

Amal Karunasekara
AllegianceSri Lanka
Service / branchFlag of the Sri Lankan Army.png  Sri Lanka Army
Years of service1981 – 2018
Rank Major General
Unit Sri Lanka Light Infantry
Commands Chief of Staff
Kilinochchi Security Forces
53 Division
Sri Lankan Contingent, United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
Battles / wars Sri Lankan Civil War
Insurrection 1987-89
Awards Rana Wickrama Padakkama Bar.png Rana Wickrama Padakkama
Rana Sura Padakkama bar.GIF Rana Sura Padakkama
Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya medal bar.svg Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya
Uttama Seva Padakkama Bar.gif Uttama Seva Padakkama

Major General K.A.D. Amal Karunasekara, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndu, psc is a retired senior Sri Lankan army officer who served as 51st Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army. [1] Major General (Rtd) Karunasekara is also the first Commandant of the National Defence College, Sri Lanka. [2]

Contents

Education

Educated at Nalanda College Colombo, Karunasekara was a Senior Cadet in the school's cadet platoon. Having received his basic training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, he is a graduate of the Defence Services Command and Staff College, the Defence Services Staff College and the PLA National Defence University having studied Defence and Stretegic Studies. He also holds a MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras; and a MSc in Defense Management from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. [1]

Military career

Karunasekara enlisted in the Sri Lanka Army as an Officer Cadet in 1981, going on to earn his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Light Infantry after completing training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatalawa in 1984. [3] Over the next 35 years, he would rise through the ranks of the army, holding such key positions as Director Military Intelligence, Director Infantry, Master General of Ordnance Branch, and Military Secretary. [3] Karunasekara has held both battalion- and brigade-level commands during the Eelam War, and has commanded the 53 Division during its course. [3] In addition, he was appointed the commander of the Sri Lankan contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) when first deployed in 2004. [3] [4]

He was the 15th Colonel of the Regiment of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry regiment, having occupied this position once temporarily between 2007 and 2009. [3] He was an instructor at Diyatalawa and Directing Staff at the Defence Services Command and Staff College.

Karunasekara was appointed Commander of Security Forces Headquarters- Kilinochchi on 18 October 2015; he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Army on 22 July 2017, after the promotion of Mahesh Senanayake to Army Commander earlier the same month left the position vacant. [3] He retired from service on 14 March 2018 with the rank of Major General. [5]

Controversy

As commandant of the Sri Lankan contingent of MINUSTAH since 2004, Karunasekara has been at the center of the child sexual abuse scandal that troops and officers under his command have been implicated in [4] [6]

On 5 April 2018, he was arrested by the Sri Lanka Police Criminal Investigation Department on charges of aiding and abetting the abduction and assault on The Nation journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008. [7] [8] [9] Karunasekara was accused of being part of a group of military intelligence operatives that functioned under the direction of the Mahinda Rajapakse government between 2006 and 2010. [8] He is currently under investigation for several related acts of state-sanctioned violence, including the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge. [10]

Personal life

Karunasekara is married, and has one daughter with his wife Dananjanie. [3]

Having been an avid hockey player at school level, he has represented Sri Lanka at national level in the sport and has gone on to be chairman of the Sri Lanka Army Hockey Committee [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Army</span> Land force branch of the Sri Lankan armed forces

The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; the army was renamed as the 'Sri Lanka Army' when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2024, the Army had approximately 150,000 personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarath Fonseka</span> Sri Lankan army officer

Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka is a retired Sri Lankan army officer and politician. He was the eighteenth Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, and under his command the Sri Lankan Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment</span> Military unit

The Commando Regiment is the commando formation of the Sri Lanka Army. The unit specializes in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counter-insurgency, and personnel recovery. It was formed in 1980 and is based in Ganemulla, a suburb of Colombo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University</span> Joint services academy in Colombo, Sri Lanka

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) located at Kandawala, Ratmalana, Colombo, is the state defense university of Sri Lanka which is administered by the Ministry of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sepala Attygalle</span> Sri Lankan army general, civil servant, and diplomat

General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, was a Sri Lankan army officer, civil servant and diplomat. The longest serving Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1967–1977), he went on to serve as the Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Military Academy</span> Academy of Sri Lanka Army in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Military Academy, commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It has capacity to train more than 300 cadets.

Major General Sarath Munasinghe, was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer and politician. He had served Commander Security Forces Headquarters Jaffna and following his retirement, went on to be elected as Member of Parliament of Kurunegala District and Deputy speaker and chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagath Jayasuriya</span> Sri Lankan army officer

General Jagath Jayasuriya, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lanka Army officer; he was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 15 July 2009 to 31 July 2013. During the closing stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he served as the Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni with overall command of SLA offensives in the Wanni region during the 2008 - 2009 period. He was also the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Suriname from June 2014 to August 2017.

General Shavendra Silva, is a Sri Lanka Army four star general who is the current Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces serving from 1 January 2020. He also served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 19 August 2019 to 31 May 2022. His other important appointments include, Chief of Staff of the army, Adjutant General and Director of Operations of the Army. During the Sri Lankan civil war he gained fame as the General Officer Commanding of the elite 58 Division. He had also served as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters.

General Shantha H.S. Kottegoda, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He was the seventeenth commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1 July 2004 – 5 December 2005. He had served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil and Thailand. In April 2019, following the Easter Sunday bombings he was appointed as the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence.

General Lionel Piyananda Balagalle,, was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He is known for formalising military intelligence operations within the Sri Lanka Army, having founded the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Military Intelligence Corps.

General R. M. Daya Ratnayake, WWV, RWP and three Bars, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lanka Army officer who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 2013 to 2015. Following his retirement from the army, he served as the Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Secretary to the Ministry of Industries.

Major General Ananda Sri Sisira Kumara Hamangoda, RWP, RSP, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former brigade commander of the 51-2 Brigade based in Jaffna, when he was killed by a LTTE female suicide bomber.

Major General Jeewaka Ruwan Kulatunga, RSP, ndc, psc, is a retired Sri Lankan general. He served as the Chief of National Intelligence having served as the Commandant of the Defence Services Command and Staff College and the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.

General N.U.M. Mahesh W. Senanayke, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan Army senior officer who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 2017 to 2019. Senanayake had previously been the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – Jaffna, General Officer Commanding, 52 Division and Brigade Commander, Special Forces Brigade. Having started his military career as a military engineer, Senanayake became a special forces officer and is a veteran of all four phases of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he has served in both its Northern and Eastern theaters. Following his retirement, he contested the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and came fourth after the three candidates of the three major political parties in the island.

Major General Priyanka Fernando, RWP, USP, is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He has served as the Director General of General Staff (DGGS); General officer commanding (GOC), 58 Division; Commandant of the Ranaviru (veterans) Resource Centre; Director of Rehabilitation; and the Director of Real Estate and Quartering. He served as the Colonel of the Regiment of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment and was the Sri Lankan Minister Counsellor (Defence) in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laksiri Waduge</span> Sri Lankan army general (born 1965)

Major General Galwaduge Janaka Laksiri Waduge, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndu is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the 10th Commander Security Forces Headquarters – Central and the former Colonel commandant of Military Intelligence Corps. He retired from active service in 2020 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 55 for Sri Lankan Armed Forces Personnel.

The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have established numerous academies and staff colleges across Sri Lanka for the purpose of training professional soldiers in military sciences, warfare command and strategy, and associated technologies.

Major General Duleep Justin De Sliva Wickramanayake was a general of the Sri Lanka Army. He served as the Director Operations and Training of the Sri Lanka Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikum Liyanage</span> Sri Lankan general

Lieutenant General H.L.V.M. Liyanage, widely known as Vikum Liyanage, is a Sri Lanka Army general. He is the current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army serving from 1 June 2022. Prior to become the army commander, he was the 59th Chief of Staff of the Army. On 1 June 2022, Liyanage assumed as the 24th Commander of Sri Lanka Army. Earlier, he served as the Commandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force.

References

  1. 1 2 "Major General Amal Karunasekara appointed Army chief of staff". newsfirst.lk. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  2. ↑ How Sri Lanka benefits from the National Defence College
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Major General Amal Karunasekara - New Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army". Asiantribune.com. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Ses soldats à la Minustah ont violé des enfants, il est promu". loophaiti.com. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Karunasekara retires". dailymirror.lk. Daily Mirror. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "UN confirms sex charges". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Keith Noyahr abduction: Rtd. Major General Karunasekara arrested". dailymirror.lk. Daily Mirror. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Retired senior Sri Lankan Army officer arrested for attack on journalist". colombopage.com. ColomboPage. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Fmr. Military Intelligence Chief Arrested". Hiru News. Asia Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Arrest of Sri Lanka's ex-military intelligence chief leads to breakthrough". economynext.com. EconomyNext. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Engineers Corps Wins Inter Regiment Hockey Championship". army.lk. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  12. ↑ 51st Army Chief of Staff Assumes Office


Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Staff of the Army (Sri Lanka)
July 2017 - March 2018		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.