GOSL to unveil monument for Indian soldiers

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 January 2008, 12:17 GMT]
A monument to soldiers of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) who lost their lives, while serving under the Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord in North East of Sri Lanka, is to be opened on February 4, Sri Lanka's Independence day, sources in Colombo said. The monument is located near the Sri Lanka Parliament Complex. Several Indian Military officials have previously made statements to the Indian media of the indifference Sri Lanka had shown towards casualties India suffered during the peace keeping operation.

The monument is being constructed to express the gratitude of the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for the services rendered by the Indian Army to bring peace to Sri Lanka, according to a media release of the Presidential Secretariat.

"Those who ruled Sri Lanka earlier had forgotten the services of the Indian Army. After I assumed power, I directed the relevant authorities to construct a monument to remember the services of the dead Indian soldiers," press release quoted President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Political analysts speculate that after President J.R.Jeyawardene's period in 1987 when India was entrapped into expending men and material into combatting Tamils in the NorthEast, Colombo, under Rajapakse, appears to be embarking on a similar exercise.