Major General

Amal Karunasekara
AllegianceSri Lanka
Service/branch Sri Lanka Army
Years of service1981 – 2018
RankMajor General
UnitSri Lanka Light Infantry
Commands heldChief of Staff
Kilinochchi Security Forces
53 Division
Sri Lankan Contingent, United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
Battles/warsSri Lankan Civil War
Insurrection 1987-89
Awards Rana Wickrama Padakkama
Rana Sura Padakkama
Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya
Uttama Seva Padakkama

Major General K.A.D. Amal Karunasekara, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndu, psc is a retired senior Sri Lankan army general 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]

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]

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


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