Rohan Daluwatte රොහාන් දඵවත්ත | |
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| Born | (1941-05-09)9 May 1941 Ambalangoda,British Ceylon |
| Died | 27 August 2018(2018-08-27) (aged 77) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Allegiance |  Sri Lanka |
| Service |  Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | 1963–1998 (35 years) |
| Rank |  General |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps |
| Commands | Commander of the Army Overall Operational Commander |
| Battles / wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Awards | |
GeneralRohan De Silva Daluwatte,WWV,RWP,RSP,VSV,USP (9 May 1941 – 27 August 2018) was a senior officer of theSri Lanka Army. He served asCommander of the Sri Lanka Army andChief of the Defence Staff. Following his retirement from the army, he served asSri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil among other appointments.
The major achievement during his tenure asArmy Chief of Staff was the capture of theJaffna peninsula duringOperation Riviresa, under his command as Joint Operations Commander. As Commander of the Army, he oversaw large scale operations againstLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),Operation Jayasikurui,Operation Sath Jaya andOperation Thrivida Pahara with mixed success.[1][2][3][4]
Daluwatte was born inAmbalangoda, a coastal town in the south of Sri Lanka, to D. H. Paulis De Silva, a planter and former athlete; and D. W. Leela Somawathie.[1] He had one sister, Malini and four brothers, Susantha, Pinsiri, Rupasiri and Dhanasiri.
He received his education inDharmapala Vidyalaya and atAnanda College. During his school career he captained the Ananda College badminton team from 1957 to 1960, was a member of the college tennis team in 1959 and 1960 and he was the wicket-keeper in the Ananda first XI in 1960. He was a college prefect and a Lance Corporal of thecadet platoon.[1]
Daluwatte joined the Ceylon Army on 14 August 1961 as an officer cadet and received his officer training at theRoyal Military Academy, Sandhurst. At Sandhurst, he excelled in athletics, badminton and basketball. He won the triple jump event at the British Army Championships and won the British Combined Services Colours for Athletics.[5][6]
On his return to Ceylon, he was commissioned as aSecond Lieutenant in the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,Ceylon Armoured Corps on 1 August 1963. He then attended the young officers course at theRoyal Armoured Corps Centre, Bowington. He later went on to captain the Sri Lankan Army basketball team.[5]
He went on to serve as the Chief Instructor of the Officer Cadet School at theArmy Training Centre from 1979 to 1981. As aMajor, he served as theCommanding Officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,Sri Lanka Armoured Corps from December 1981 to July 1982; there after served as the commanding officer of theSri Lanka Army Service Corps; Coordinating Officer Commanding Troops inMannar; Director-Supplies and Transport; Commandant of the Army Training Centre andMilitary Secretary atArmy Headquarters. He had graduated from theDefence Services Staff College and theNational Defence College.[5]
In 1995 Major General Daluwatte, who was theChief of Staff of the Army was appointedOverall Operational Commander - North and East by PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga to commandOperation Riviresa the largest combined military operation undertaken by the Sri Lankan armed forces at the time. With the objective of regaining control of theJaffna peninsula from the LTTE, Operation Riviresa was successful in recapturingJaffna and pushing the LTTE to the jungles of Wanni with significant loss of men and material.[7][8]
On 1 May 1996, he was appointed the 14thCommander of the Army of Sri Lanka by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and promoted to the rank ofLieutenant General.[9] The early part of his tenure saw theloss of Mullaitivu andOperation Sath Jaya which capturedKilinochchi. After theloss of Vavunathivu,Operation Jayasikurui was launched as the largest military operation undertaken by the Sri Lankan armed forces at the time to open a land route to the Jaffna peninsula through the LTTE held areas. It was called off by President Kumaratunga after having captured Mannakulam, Omanthai andNedunkerny, but losing Kilinochchi and failing in achieving its objective. In April 1997, he co-hosted withCommander Pacific Army the Pacific Armies Management Seminar.[10] On 15 December 1998, he retired from the military service, having been promoted to the rank ofGeneral.[5]
After his retirement, he was appointed Chairman of the newly created Joint Operations Bureau, however he was reinstated to active service with the formation of the post ofChief of Defence Staff. During his tenure, he was given authority over all Sri Lankan armed forces to coordinate efforts to stall the LTTE offensive on the Jaffna peninsula following theloss of Elephant Pass. This was achieved with the establishment of the Muhamalai and Nagarkovil defensive lines which remained in place till the last days of the conflict in 20??. He retired as CDS in 2002.[11][7] Daluwatte offered his resignation in September 2000 following casualties suffered by Sri Lankan security forces in an offensive.[12]
After retiring from the army, he was appointed the Ambassador of Sri Lanka toBrazil in 2002. With no permanent diplomatic presence in Brazil, General Daluwatte established a Sri Lankan embassy inBrasília and served as Sri Lanka Ambassador till 2005. Later, he was appointed Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka and then the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. He also served as theChancellor of theKotalawala Defence University.[13][14][15]
General Daluwatte died on the 27 August 2018 at the army hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was cremated at theBorella Cemetery inColombo with full military honours on 29 August 2018.[7]
He met his wife while he was captain of the national basketball team whilst she was playing for the Sri Lanka national women's team. They had a daughter Radiesha; and a son,[16] Radesh.[citation needed]
In the course of his military career he was awarded several of Sri Lanka's highest medals and decorations, including theWeera Wickrama Vibhushanaya,Rana Wickrama Padakkama,Rana Sura Padakkama,Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya andUttama Seva Padakkama.[3]
He was also awarded theLegion of Merit by the United States for defense co-operation during the 1997 Pacific Armies Management Seminar and Grand Cross of theOrder of the Southern Cross byBrazil for his services for co-operation between Brazil and Sri Lanka during his tenure as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil.[5]
Sri Lankan newspaperThe Sunday Leader alleged in January 2011 that Daluwatte wrote his own recommendation for the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, which is Sri Lanka's second highest gallantry award for actions in combat. The newspaper also alleged that he did not obtain three eye witness reports which is a usual requirement for the medal. The citation stated that the medal was for gallantry in the operation to capture Jaffna. Daluwatte later stated that he had not been in combat at Jaffna but saw action at Neerveli, though none of the commanders spoken to by the newspaper could verify this.[11][17]
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of the Sri Lankan Army 1996–1998 | Succeeded by |
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