1966 Alleged Ceylonese Coup D'état Attempt
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The 1966 alleged Ceylonese coup d'état attempt (also known as the '' Bathroom coup '' or the '' Lavatory coup '') was an alleged military coup planned in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
(
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
). The commander of the army and several military personnel were arrested. They were later acquitted of a plot to overthrow the legally elected government.


Background

Following the attempted military coup in 1962 the military of Ceylon underwent many changes. In 1965 a new government was elected with following the
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...
government's electoral defeat in 1965,
Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan wikt:statesman, statesman who thrice served as Prime Minister of C ...
became prime minister. During his tenure his government began to undo several pro-Sinhalese policies undertaken by the Bandaranaike government, to the resentment of some factions.


Investigations

While Dudley Senanayke was in Washington, following investigations led by SP
Ana Seneviratne Ganegoda Appuhamelage Don Edmund Ananda Seneviratne (20 April 1927 – 26 September 2015) was a Sri Lankan police officer. He was the former Inspector General of Police (Sri Lanka), Inspector-General of Police, Sri Lankan High Commissioner (Com ...
, the Director of CID, the police arrested several non-commissioned officers (NCO) of the army, a retired civil servant and a monk with political ties on the basis of an alleged plot for a coup d'état. During this time the Army Commander, Major General Richard Udugama was in the UK and was called back immediately. On his arrival he was arrested in July 1966 at the
Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA airport code, IATA: CMB, ICAO airport code, ICAO: VC ...
by the IGP John Attygalle. 31 suspects were arrested, this included Major General Richard Udugama, N.Q. Dias (former
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...
of the
Ministry of External Affairs and Defence The Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was a cabinet ministry of the Government of Ceylon that conducted and managed all of Ceylon's relations with other countries and its military matters from 1947 to 1977. History The ministry was for ...
who had retired after the new government came to power), Ven. Henpitagedera Gnanashia, Captain Sirisena and 20 NCOs and Privates as well as several civilians. Later two suspects Corporal Tilekawardene and L. V. P. "Dodampe Mudalali" Podiappuhamy 'committed suicide'
jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and ...
from the CID office on the fourth floor of the secretariat building. At the inquest, following receipt of new evidence, the Magistrate altered the verdict of suicide to one of
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...
. Several army officers including
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
(later
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...
)
Denzil Kobbekaduwa Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in the 1971 Insurrection and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Having trained with the British ...
were sent on compulsory leave. Investigations also revealed a link to a "Dr Tissa" who was identified as
Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera (; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989), better known as Rohana Wijeweera, was a Sri Lankan Marxist–Leninist political activist, revolutionary, and founder of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ). W ...
.


Aftermath

The
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, A.C.M. Ameer, QC filed a plaint before Ben David, the
Chief Magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...
of Colombo who then committed the accused to trial before the
Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the Supreme C ...
. This was under two counts; # Having conspired to wage war against the Queen between December 1, 1965, and February 18, 1966. # Having conspired between the said dates and in the course of the same transaction to overthrow the Government of Ceylon by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force. H N G Fernando, the Chief Justice, arranged a Division bench of three Supreme Court judges and a jury panel. The accused were defended by some of the best lawyers in the country, Dr Colvin R. de Silva,
Felix Dias Bandaranaike Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike ( Sinhala:ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණඩාරනායක) (5 November 1930 – 26 June 1985) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secre ...
,
Anil Moonesinghe Anil Moonesinghe (15 February 1927 – 8 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician and trade unionist. He became a member of parliament, a Cabinet Minister of Transport in 1964, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 19 ...
, Mangala Moonesinghe, Neville Samarakoon,
Tissa Wijeyeratne Suratissa Diyasena Wijeyeratne ( Sinhala: සුරතිස්ස දියසේන විජයරත්න) (17 February 1923 – 11 July 2002) (known as ''Tissa Wijeyeratne'') was a Sri Lankan politician, diplomat, barrister and businessman. ...
, Batty Weerakoon. The case was subsequently dismissed when the jury unanimously acquitted all of the accused in a plot to overthrow the legally elected government due to lack of evidence. Major General Richard Udugama contest and won the following parliamentary elections from the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...
. N.Q. Dias was appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India by the Bandaranaike government that was reelected to power in 1970. The accused NCOs were made
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
s by the Bandaranaike government1966 Coup Attempt
/ref> and officers sent on compulsory leave were reinstated in 1970. The
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
of the
Ceylon Police Force Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...
which was charged with
national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
created by the Senanayake Government to prevent a future coups was disbanded when Sirimavo Bandaranaike was again elected in 1970 which resulted in her government being caught off guard, with no early warning when the
1971 JVP Insurrection The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of ...
started.


Accused participants in the coup attempt

;Military * Major General Richard Udugama, MBE - Commander of the Ceylon Army *
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Sirisena *
Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
Mayadunna *
Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
Bandara *
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
Hondamuni *
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
Amaratunga ; Civilians * N.Q. Dias, CCS - former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence *Ven. Henpitagedera Gnanashia Nayaka Thero - Head of Sri Sumana Pirivena, Ratnapura


References


External links


THE QUEEN v. REV. H. GNANASEEHA THERO and 21 OthersFlashback 1966: Army Commander arrestedMajor General Richard Udugama: Just and upright leader, Right of reply
{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Alleged Ceylonese Coup D'etat Attempt 1966 in Ceylon 1966 in military history History of Sri Lanka (1948–present)
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
Attempted coups in Sri Lanka