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
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

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

1. "Sri Lanka Army bulldozes Heroes' Cemetery in Trincomalee - Elilan". TamilNet. 29 November 2006.
2. Ramachandran, Sudha (26 March 2011). "Colombo digs grave for Tamil harmony". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
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. 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.