Attempted military coup in Ceylon, 1962

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The Attempted military coups d'état of 1962 in Ceylon was a attempted coups d'état planed by several senior military and police officers that failed. The plot was due to be carried out in the night of 27 January 1962, how ever before the coup could be launched the key leaders were rounded up and arrested. Due to the confusion that followed in the investigation and lengthy legal procedure, the full extent of the coup remains unclear.

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[edit] Background

Ceylon gained independence from Britain in 1948, as the Dominion of Ceylon. This marked the begin of self rule for the local population. However much of the political and government leadership of the country was passed down from the British to the Ceylonese Christian elite, who had served the British loyally before 1948. Therefore for all of the high offices of state were held by these elite. The newly formed military and the old colonial police were no different.

In 1956 Oxford educated S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike becomes Prime Minister of Ceylon, although an member of elite and a Anglican, who had become a Buddhist was elected on a nationalistic movement in which he gathered the support of the Sinhala majority of the country, who ever underprivileged compared to the Christian elite. As promised during the election Bandaranaike began a rapid Sinhalaliation of all parts of the government, which culminated in the adopting of the "Sinhala only" policy by his government. At the same time he cut many military contacts with Britain by having her remove the last of the British military bases in Ceylon and moving towards Socialist form of economy.

These acts effect the minority of elites, for example the officer corps of the army in the 1950's three fifths Christian, Tamil and Burgher; Bandaranaike moved to balance this by increasing the number of Sinhalese officers (Sinhalese made up 70% of the total population). He had the post of Inspector General of Police (the head of the police) given to a Buddhist officer over three other more senior Christian officers. Bandaranaike was assassinate in 1959, although the more conservative United National Party (UNP) came to power for a brief period, the leadership of his own party Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLPF) was taken up by his widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who was appointed a senator and with the support of several leftist parties defeated the weak UNP government and formed a new coalition government with her as Prime Minister (the first women Prime Minister in the world). The new regime carried out the work started by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

By 1961 resentment was building up among the Christians, who felt that they were being replaced systematically. There were 700 Roman Catholic schools under nationalization which makes concern among the christians. The country's economy was getting worse, resulting in increasing cost of living and rising unemployment. It is said the coup members saw Gen. Ayub Khan military coup in Pakistan as an example to be followed in Sri Lanka.[1]

[edit] The coup

The Prime Minister was due to leave Colombo to Kataragama on the evening of Friday the 26 January 1962, however she didn't leave. The Air Force which was under the command of seconded RAF officers were not connect. The coup was planed by mostly reserve and retired officers and police offices.

Government ministers, the Permanent Secretary for Defence and External affairs, the Inspector General of Police, DIG (CID), SP (CID) and the acting Navy Commander were among those to be arrested. Other service commanders including the Army Commander were to be restrained and prevented from leaving their houses that night after a certain hour. Soon after midnight police cars equipped with loud hailers were to be sent out to announce an immediate curfew in Colombo city limits. The Central Telegraph Office, Colombo and other city telephone exchanges were to be put out of operation. Newspaper office buildings, Police Headquarters, the CID office and other key points were to be taken over. Armoured cars were to be stationed at certain points to ensure the success of the operation. Troops from the Panagoda Cantonment were to be prevented from reaching Colombo that night at any cost. Army vehicles fitted with radio equipment, were to be stationed at the two Kelani bridges, the Kirillapone Bridge and other places. Armed police motorcyclists were to be at Torrington (Independence) Square from about 11 p.m. that night. A special direct telephone line had been laid the previous day, from Lower Lake Road (current Army Headquarters) to Echelon Barracks, for use by army personnel.

However the prime minister didn't leave and that night she was visited by two senior police officers of the CID, DIG S. A. Dissanayake and SP John Attygalle (both would later become IGPs) who informed the PM about an attempt to take over the Government by a coup by certain army, navy and police personnel according to information received. The information came from SP Stanley Senanayake (would later become IGP), head of the Colombo Police who after benign taken into the confidence of the coup leaders had informed the his father-in-law and SLFP party secretary P. de S. Kularatne, who intern notified the CID.

The information took the PM by shock, however her nephew, Felix Dias Bandaranaike, Minister of Finance quickly had the ring leaders rounded up from their homes by regular units and brought to Temple Trees the official residence of the prime minister, where they were questioned personally by Felix Dias Bandaranaike and the CID. In all 31 conspirators, Commissioned Officers from the Army and the Navy, Gazetted Officers from the Police and one civil servant were arrested.

[edit] The aftermath

Since no shots were fired and no troops deployed, the conspirators couldn't be charged. So they were remanded, pending trail in a special section of the Welikada Prison called the Magazine Section. A special security detachment was selected called the composite guard to guard these officers from the Ceylon Light Infantry with Major A Hulangamuwa in Charge. They were held in solitary confinement in hope of getting a confession.

All the 26 charged with conspiring to overthrow the a elected government were Christians, in terms of ethnicity, there were 12 Sinhalese, six Tamils and six Burghers among them. The leaders were the Oxford educated Colonel Fredrick C. de Saram OBE of the Ceylon Artillery (he was a cousin of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike), C. C. "Jungle" Dissanayake a Senior Deputy Inspector General of police, Colonel Maurice de Mel, Commandant of the Volunteer Force (second-in-command of the Army), Rear Admiral Royce de Mel OBE, recently relieved captain of the navy and brother of Colonel Maurice de Mel and Douglas Liyanage a senior member of the Ceylon Civil Service. The remaining five were not prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

The accused were defended by some of the best lawyers led by G.G. Ponnambalam, H.W. Jayewardene and S.J. Kadirgamar to counter the "inquisitor" Felix Dias Bandaranaike. However Col F.C. de Saram had made a confession which was helpful to the prosecution. The government put in place a new law called "Criminal Law Special Provision Act of 1962" under which hearsay could be admitted as evidence. And to bring the coup case under the draconian law, it was given retrospective effect from January 1, 1962.

But the first Trial at Bar held in 1962, under the new law,however the judges dissolved the court saying that they were appointed by the Executive, when the latter had no constitutional right to do so. the Act was then amended to get the Supreme Court to appoint the judges. The second court also dissolved itself because of one of the judges, in his earlier post as Attorney General, had assisted the investigation of the case.

A Third Court sat for 324 days from June 3, 1963, and convicted 11 of the 24 accused including Col F.C. de Saram, Col. Maurice de Mel, Rear Admiral Royce de Mel, C.C. Dissanayake and Douglas Liyanage. The sentence was 10 years in jail and confiscation of property. However the condemned took their case to the Privy Council, In its ruling given in December 1965, it held the Special Act of 1962 ultra vires of the Ceylon constitution and said that the Act had denied fair trial. according to the Privy Council the law had been specially enacted to convict the men, under trial they did not have the protections that they would have had under general criminal law. It acquitted all the eleven.

It was claimed that they had hoped to replace the government with an junta of ex-Prime Ministers. Therefor some of the Crown witnesses tried to link the then Governor-General, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, and former Prime Ministers, Dudley Senanayake and Colonel Sir John Kotelawala, with the conspiracy. Although this was never proven Sir Oliver Goonetilleke resigned as Governor-General and went into self imposed exile in Britain, he was replace by Sirimavo Bandaranaike's uncle William Gopallawa who was at the time serving as Ceylon's Ambassador to the US.

[edit] Result of the coup

The primary result of the coup, was that it lead to Sirimavo Bandaranaike's distrust of the military. Even though the Army Commander Winston Wijekoon and the IGP M. W. F. Abeykoon were not aware coup, however the former was replaced in 1963 by Major General A.R. Udugam, the first Sinhala-Buddhist Army Commander. Funding for the services were cut drastically greatly effecting its growth and disabling its ability of defending Ceylon in the long term. Several volunteer (Reserve) units were disbanded and hardware procurements limited. The Navy was the also hard hit, many of its ships were sold and its blue water capability lost, it would regain it former ability until the 1980's and 1990's. Inter service cooperation in form of joint operations were suspended. As a result the military was cough off guard at the start of the 1971 JVP Insurrection, in another government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. During this the country had to rely on help from other countries.

[edit] Accused members of the coup

Military
Police
  • C.C. "Jungle" Dissanayake - Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG), Range I.
  • Sydney de Zoysa - former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
  • V.E. Perera - Superintendent of Police (West)
  • Lionel .C.S. Jirasinghe - Assistant Superintendent of Police
  • Johnpillai - Assistant Superintendent of Police, Traffic
  • Terry V. Wijesinghe - Assistant Superintendent of Police, Personal Assistant to SDIG Range I
Civilians
  • J.F.D. Liyanage CCS - Deputy Director, Land Development

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Delayed Revolt", Time, March 03, 1961. 

[edit] External links