Rohana Wijeweera, Sri Lankan rebel and politician (b. 1943)
Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera (Sinhala: පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989) (nom de guerre: Rohana Wijeweera), was a Sri Lankan Marxist political activist, revolutionary and the founding leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (transl. People's Liberation Front). Wijeweera led the party in two unsuccessful insurrections in Sri Lanka, in 1971 and 1987 to 1989.
In 1965 he formed the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) with the intention of replacing the Dominion of Ceylon with a socialist republic.
The JVP ideologically supported the Tamil militants, calling it a war for self-determination, but opposed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Following the Indo-Lanka accord, the JVP, with the leadership of Wijeweera and a secondary faction, launched a military and social campaign with the aim of overthrowing the government of Sri Lanka.
The government of Sri Lanka then launched Operation Combine with the intention of killing Wijeweera. While they succeeded, the JVP maintained its identity as a political party and later joined a coalition government.