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Cecil Waidyaratne සිසිල් වෛද්යරත්න | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1938-06-16)June 16, 1938 Ceylon |
| Died | December 18, 2001(2001-12-18) (aged 63) India |
| Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
| Service | Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | 1961–94 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps |
| Commands | Commander of the Sri Lankan Army Chief of Staff of the Army Operation Combine 1 Division |
| Battles / wars | 1971 JVP insurrection 1987–89 JVP Insurrection Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Awards | Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya Uttama Seva Padakkama |
| Other work | Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand |
GeneralL. D. E. Cecil Waidyaratne,VSV,USP (16 May 1938 – 18 December 2001) was aSri Lanka Armygeneral. He was 12thCommander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri LankanAmbassador toThailand.[1][2]
Educated atSt. Benedict's College, Colombo, where he played for the college cricket team.[3]
Waidyaratne joined theCeylon Army on 26 June 1959, as acadet officer and received his officer training at theRoyal Military Academy, Sandhurst. On 28 July 1961, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,Ceylon Armoured Corps. He served with the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment during the1971 JVP insurrection and in 1973, he attended theDefence Services Staff College inWellington gaining hispsc qualification.[3]
On January 1, 1980, he was promoted to the rank oflieutenant colonel and was appointedcommanding officer of theSri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers when fraud and robbery was reported in army workshops. In March 1981, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion,Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment and tasked with undertaking disciplinary action following a clash between Sinha Regiment troops and police officers of the Fort Police Station on 20 January that year. He was thereafter appointed commanding officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps from July 1982 to June 1983. In May 1983, he was then sent to take control of what the army command thought of a possiblemutiny in theRajarata Rifles. Taking command of theRajarata Rifles, Colonel Waidyaratne had it disbanded, retrained and merged its remaining officers and men with that of theVijayabahu Infantry Regiment in October 1983 to form theGajaba Regiment under the command of Lieutenant ColonelVijaya Wimalaratne.[3]
In 1985, he became the Commander Northern Area and thereafter Commander Southern Area before becoming theGeneral Officer Commanding,1 Division. In 1988, he attended the National Security and Strategic Study course at theNational Defence College, India. In 1989, he was promoted to the rank ofmajor general and appointedChief of Staff of the Army. In August 1989, amidst of thesecond JVP insurrection in the southern parts of the island, Waidyaratne was appointed concurrently as the Commander ofOperation Combine with responsibility for the security ofColombo Metropolitan area. He led the Operation Combine to systematically suppress the military branch of the JVP, theDJP with brutalcounter-insurgency operations which lead to the end of the second JVP insurrection following the death of its leaderRohana Wijeweera in November 1989.[2][3]
On 16 November 1991, he was promoted tolieutenant general and was appointed as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army. Taking command of the army during theEelam War II phase of theSri Lankan Civil War, Waidyaratne introduced a program of re-training and re-equipping to face theconventional warfare tactics adopted by the LTTE with theFirst Battle of Elephant Pass. He proposed a long term strategy to defeat the LTTE aimed at defeating the LTTE in theEastern Province and thereafter bringing overwhelming force to bare on LTTE controlled areas in theNorthern Province. However, the LTTE was able to keep the army on the defensive by ambushing its patrols and launching attacks on isolated detachments like in the case of theBattle of Janakapura and theBattle of Pooneryn. Following Pooneryn, Waidyaratne resigned on 31 December 1993,[4] and was promoted toGeneral on 1 January 1994 and retired from the army. He was succeeded by Major GeneralG. H. De Silva.[5][6]
He had been awarded theVishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV) for distinguished service, his other medals include theSri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal,Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal,Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal,President's Inauguration Medal,Purna Bhumi Padakkama.
Following his retirement he was appointed Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand and held the post till December 1994. He died on 18 December 2001, while undergoing medical treatment in India.[2][3]
He married Thileka Jayewardene, daughter ofMajorT. F. Jayewardene.[2]
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of the Sri Lankan Army 1991–93 | Succeeded by |
