Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Parami Sugandika Bandara Kulatunga, RSP, VSV, USP ( Sinhala:පාරමී කුලතුංග) (9 October 1951 in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

– 26 June 2006) was a senior

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

officer. He was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

and its third highest-ranking officer at the time of his assassination. On the morning of 26 June, he was killed by a

Tamil Tiger The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

suicide bomber who drove an explosives laden motorbike into his

staff car A staff car is a vehicle used by a senior military officer, and is part of their country's white fleet. The term is most often used in relation to the United Kingdom where they were first used in quantity during World War I, examples being the ...

as it was driving to a military base at

Pannipitiya Pannipitiya ( si, පන්නිපිටිය, ta, பன்னிபிட்டிய) is a suburb of Colombo. It is an area in Colombo District, Sri Lanka and is located about from the commercial capital. Pannipitiya is subdivided into ...

near Colombo.

Early life and education

Born in

Lewella Lewella (meaning "blood sand") is a village and northeastern suburb of Kandy, in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It contains the Buddhist Lewella Meditation Centre, as well as a center for the Jesuits. The Mahaweli River flows on the eastern side, wi ...

, to Lionel and Leela Kulatunga. He was the youngest of four siblings, Lumbini, Samantha and Indu. Kulatunga was educated at

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

, where he played rugby and became the Senior Regimental Sergeant Major of the Senior Cadet Platoon.

Military career

Early career

Having joined the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

on July 20, 1971, with intake 5A at the height of the 1971 JVP insurrection, receiving his basic training at the Army Tranining Center in

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destination ...

. Completing his training as the second in the order of merit, he was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and posted to the 1st

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of the

Gemunu Watch The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Ceylon Light Infantry and the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has bee ...

on October 14, 1972. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on July 24, 1974;

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on July 24, 1977, and

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on June 1, 1982. This included a stint as the first aide-de-camp to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Tissa Weeratunga General Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV (August 29, 1930 – November 2003) was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He was a former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1981 – 1985) and first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Oper ...

and active service in the norther province with the Gemunu Watch with the on set of the Sri Lankan Civil War, participating in the

Vadamarachchi Operation Operation Liberation also known as the Vadamarachchi Operation was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May and June 1987 to recapture the territory of Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE (Tam ...

in 1987.

Staff officer

On March 24, 1989, he was appointed as

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

to the intelligence operation headquarters of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

October 1, 1989. On January 56, 1990, he was appointed as a

general staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

to the 23rd Brigade, taking part in the

Operation Balavegaya Operation Balavegaya (Operation Power force) was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan military in Jaffna, the largest amphibious assault in its history. Operation Balavegaya was launched in response to the siege of Elephant ...

in 1991 and was thereafter transferred to the general staff of the 2nd Division headquarters with promotion to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on June 27, 1993. He was thereafter appointed as deputy commandant of the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

at Ratmalana on November 31, 1993, and took over as assistant military secretary at the Ministry of Defence June 10, 1994. Kulatunga had attended the Senior Command Course at the

Army War College, Mhow The Army War College, Dr.Ambedkar Nagar (A.W.C.) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It develops and evaluates concepts and doctrines for tactics and logistics for the army. ...

; the Advanced Intelligence Course in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and the Intelligence Staff Officers’ Course at the Military Intelligence Training School in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Higher command

On December 12, 1994, he was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and became the

brigade commander A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the 22 Brigade in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

, taking part in the

Operation Riviresa Operation Riviresa (Operation Sunrays), was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Jaffna. Starting on 17 October 1995, the primary objective of the operation was the capture of the city of Jaffna and rest of ...

. He was then appointed director of training at the army headquarters on December 28, 1996, serving until October 1, 1997, when he was appointed deputy general officer commanding of the 56th and 54th Divisions, taking part in the Operation Jayasikuru. On November 28, 1999, he took over as general officer commanding (GOC), 52 Division in

Varani Varani is a small town located in the region of Northern Province in Sri Lanka. It is around 196 miles (316 km) North of Colombo, the country's capital. See also * List of towns in Northern Province, Sri Lanka Northern Province is a provinc ...

. On May 5, 2000, he was promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and appointed as GOC of the 11th Division in the

Panagoda Cantonment Panagoda Cantonment is a cantonment located in the western Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province of Sri Lanka. It serves as the regimental headquarters of many regiments of the Sri Lanka Army and is an arsenal. It also houses one of the mai ...

. In 2003, he attended the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

as an international fellow in the class of 2003. On September 6, 2003, he was appointed the director general of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

, army headquarters and on August 10, 2004, he was appointed Commander of Security Forces HQ, Wanni. On December 6, 2005, he was appointed the deputy chief of staff of the Sri Lanka army, serving as the third highest-ranking office in the army. He was also serving as

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion ...

of the Gemunu Watch from July 17, 2003. He had represented Sri Lanka in a number of international symposiums, including the Special Operations conference in the US, South Asia Peace Keeping Operations Seminar in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, Pacific Armies Management seminar in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Senior Military Officers’ Seminar in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

medal awarding parade in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Death

Lieutenant General Parami Kulatunga Statue at Kandy

Assassination

On the morning of June 26, 2006, Major General Kulatunga was killed along with two other military personnel of his detail, Staff Sergeant Gomes and Corporal Buddhika and a civilian bystander, by a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

who drove an explosives-laden motorbike into his

Peugeot 406 The Peugeot 406 is a mid-size car, large family car that was produced by France, French automaker Peugeot between 1995 and 2004. Available in sedan (car), saloon, station wagon, estate and coupé bodystyles with a choice of petrol or turbodiesel en ...

staff car at Panipitiya as it was driving to army headquarters from his official quarters at the

. He was age 55 at the time of his death. The government did not retaliate in force due to international press.

Threats

The State Intelligence Service and the Directorate of Military Intelligence had issued warring that despite the ceasefire agreement that was in place at the time, the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

was targeting senior military leaders. On 25 April 2006, the Commander of the Army,

Sarath Fonseka Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka ( si, ගාර්දිහේවා සරත් චන්ද්‍රලාල් ෆොන්සේකා, ta, சரத் பொன்சேகா; born 18 December 1950), commonly know ...

was severely wounded by an LTTE suicide bomb attack on his unarmored staff car at the army headquarters. Fonseka was transferred to Singapore for medical treatment. Major General

Nanda Mallawaarachchi Major General Nanda Mallawaarachchi RWP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, Msc (Defense) is the Current Secretary of Sports in Sri Lanka. He was the former Secretary of Law & Order in Sri Lanka. He was also the former Acting Commander & Chief of Staff of th ...

, Chief of Staff of the Army, took over temporary command of the army and Major General Kulatunga became the second in command effectively. Having received warnings, Kulatunga had requested quarters within the Army Headquarters, however this request was turned down. This forced Kulatunga to commute 28 km daily to his office at Army Headquarters from his quarters in the Panagoda Cantonment in his unarmored staff car.

Funeral

Major General Kulatunga was posthumously promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

effective from June 28, 2006, the day his funeral took place at the Colombo general cemetery with full military honors. A Memorial Dedication service for Lieutenant General Kulatunga was held at the

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on October 11, 2006.

Investigation

Police

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

investigations into the attacks on Fonseka and Kulatunga, discovered LTTE links with

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

groups in Colombo and military personnel who had collaborated with the LTTE for money. Major Manamendra Dassanayake was convicted of aiding and abetting the LTTE in the assassinations of Lieutenant General Parami Kulathunga and Colone

Tuan Nizam Muthaliff Colonel Tuan Nizam Muthaliff, RWP, MI (July 12, 1966 – May 31, 2005) was a Sri Lanka Army officer and intelligence officer who, while serving as the commanding officer, 1 Military Intelligence Corps, was assassinated by the Liberation Tig ...

, while Major Piyasiri Perera who was sentenced to death by a Court Marshall for treason was also implicated in the assassination.

Awards and decorations

Kulatunga had received

Rana Sura Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP, Combat Excellence Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ ශූර පදක්කම ''rana śūra padakkama'') is awarded to servicepersons of all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka for individual ...

(RSP) for gallantry,

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Eminent Service Medal) ( Sinhala: උත්තම සේවා පදක්කම ''uṭṭama sēvā padakkama'') is presented to all ranks of the regular forces of the Sri Lankan military for: Award process Th ...

(USP),

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') i ...

Riviresa Campaign Services Medal The Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ( Sinhala: රිවිරැස මෙහෙයුම් පදක්කම ''riviræsa meheyum padakkama'') was a campaign medal presented to all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of ...

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democ ...

North and East Operations Medal The North and East Operations Medal ( Sinhala: උතුරු නැගෙනහිර සංග්‍රාමික පදක්කම ''uthuru nægenahira sangrāmika padakkama'') was a decoration presented to servicepersons of the Military o ...

Desha Putra Sammanaya The Desha Putra Sammanaya ( Sinhala: දේශ පුත්‍ර සම්මානය ''dēsha puthra sammānaya''; Son of the Nation Award) is a military decoration awarded as a wound medal to servicepersons of the Military of Sri Lanka, equi ...

amongst others. In 2008 he was posthumously awarded the

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Decoration) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in reco ...

.Highest Service Medal VSV Conferred on Commander
/ref>

References

External links

Sri Lanka Army website

Sri Lanka Defence News Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulatunga, Parami 1951 births 2006 deaths Sri Lankan lieutenant generals Sinhalese military personnel Assassinated military personnel Assassinated Sri Lankan people Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka People from Kandy United States Army War College alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War Gemunu Watch officers Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2006 Army War College, Mhow alumni