Kopay Army Base
| Kopay Army Base | |
|---|---|
| Kopay in Sri Lanka | |
  Kopay Army Base Location within Northern Province | |
| Coordinates | 09°42′23.30″N 80°02′56.10″E / 9.7064722°N 80.0489167°E |
| Type | Military base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence and Urban Development |
| Operator | Sri Lanka Army |
| Controlled by | Security Forces Headquarters – Jaffna |
| Open to the public | No |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 51 Division |
Kopay Army Base is a military base in Kopay, Sri Lanka. The base was built on a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam war cemetery.
History
[edit]
In the early 1990s, when the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled the Valikamam region of Jaffna peninsula, they built a thuyilum illam (resting place) for their maaveerar (great heroes) in Kopay. After the Sri Lankan military recaptured Valikamam in 1995 they destroyed the LTTE cemetery using tractors.[1][2][3] After the Norwegian mediated peace process began in 2002 the LTTE started rebuilding their war cemeteries including that at Kopay.[1][2] After the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in May 2009 with military defeat of the LTTE the Sri Lankan government/military re-commenced destroying LTTE war cemeteries and other memorials for dead LTTE members.[4] In July 2010 the Sri Lankan military destroyed Kopay war cemetery.[5] The cemetery had had 2,000 graves.[6]
The Sri Lankan military then started building an army base on the site of the cemetery.[7][8] On 4 March 2011 the new headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army's 51 Division was officially opened by Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army.[6][9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Sri Lanka Army bulldozes Heroes' Cemetery in Trincomalee - Elilan". TamilNet. 29 November 2006.
- ^ a b Ramachandran, Sudha (26 March 2011). "Colombo digs grave for Tamil harmony". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
- ^ "Sri Lanka builds police station on LTTE cemetery". Tamil Guardian. 28 November 2007.
- ^ Natarajan, Swaminathan (27 November 2010). "Why Sri Lankan Tamils won't remember war dead this year". BBC News.
- ^ "SLA demolishes Koappaay Thamizh Eezham Heroes Cemeteries". TamilNet. 4 July 2010.
- ^ a b Haviland, Charles (7 March 2011). "Sri Lanka builds army HQ on Tamil Tiger cemetery". BBC News.
- ^ DiManno, Rosie (21 September 2013). "Sri Lanka's Tamils face violence, intimidation ahead of provincial vote". Toronto Star.
- ^ Amerasinghe, Premini (11 December 2011). "A journey back in time to a place where peace seems surreal". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- ^ "Sri Lankan state shows 'reconciliation' in the country of Eezham Tamils". TamilNet. 5 March 2011.
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