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Kopay Army Base

Coordinates: 09°42′23.30″N 80°02′56.10″E / 9.7064722°N 80.0489167°E / 9.7064722; 80.0489167
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Kopay Army Base
Kopay in Sri Lanka
Kopay Army Base is located in Northern Province
Kopay Army Base
Kopay Army Base
Location within Northern Province
Coordinates09°42′23.30″N 80°02′56.10″E / 9.7064722°N 80.0489167°E / 9.7064722; 80.0489167
TypeMilitary base
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence and Urban Development
OperatorSri Lanka Army
Controlled bySecurity Forces Headquarters – Jaffna
Open to
the public
No
Garrison information
Garrison51 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]
Kopay war cemetery in 2004

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]
  1. ^ a b "Sri Lanka Army bulldozes Heroes' Cemetery in Trincomalee - Elilan". TamilNet. 29 November 2006.
  2. ^ a b Ramachandran, Sudha (26 March 2011). "Colombo digs grave for Tamil harmony". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Sri Lanka builds police station on LTTE cemetery". Tamil Guardian. 28 November 2007.
  4. ^ Natarajan, Swaminathan (27 November 2010). "Why Sri Lankan Tamils won't remember war dead this year". BBC News.
  5. ^ "SLA demolishes Koappaay Thamizh Eezham Heroes Cemeteries". TamilNet. 4 July 2010.
  6. ^ a b Haviland, Charles (7 March 2011). "Sri Lanka builds army HQ on Tamil Tiger cemetery". BBC News.
  7. ^ DiManno, Rosie (21 September 2013). "Sri Lanka's Tamils face violence, intimidation ahead of provincial vote". Toronto Star.
  8. ^ Amerasinghe, Premini (11 December 2011). "A journey back in time to a place where peace seems surreal". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  9. ^ "Sri Lankan state shows 'reconciliation' in the country of Eezham Tamils". TamilNet. 5 March 2011.