Gopalapuram LTTE war memorial opened

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 May 2003, 03:19 GMT]
The war memorial constructed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Gopalapuram junction in the village of Nilaveli, about sixteen km north of Trincomalee town in memory of LTTE cadres who died in a mid-sea mishap in 1990 was declared open Monday evening, sources said.

The Gopalapuram war memorial was constructed in memory of 22 LTTE cadres who died in seas off Trincomalee when they were returning after attacking a camp of the Eelam national Democratic Front (ENDLF) a para military group then backed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) against the LTTE at Jamaliya, a suburb in Trincomalee, sources said.

LTTE Nilaveli division political head Mr.Thooyavan declared open the war memorial by cutting the ribbon. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan first lit the traditional oil lamp, which was followed by another TNA parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Thilak, OIC, Kuchchaveli Police Mr.Ludwyke and several leading personalities.

The Tamil Eelam national flag was hoisted by the LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.Tilak as hundreds of people including police personnel and navy personnel in civil and two members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Commission (SLMM) in Trincomalee watched the event, sources said.

Mr.S.Tharman, head of the TEEDOR in Trincomalee presided over the opening event held Monday.

Parliamentarian Mr.Sampanthan addressing the gathering later said. "Today we are thinking that we are on the road to peace and the present peace environment has dawned in the country because of the sacrifice made by tens of thousands of LTTE cadres in the war. The authorities concerned should not allow any more sacrifice by Tamils and LTTE to achieve permanent and just political solution ensuring equal rights to all communities."



Mothers and relatives of LTTE Martyrs paying homage to the Gopalapuram war memorial by lighting flame of sacrifice



LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Thilak said, "We fought a war with a goal to regain the lost rights of Tamil speaking people. We agreed to cease hostilities and joined the peace talks to find a negotiated solution to the ethnic conflict. We regret to say that we have not achieved anything during the last fourteen months of ceasefire. However we are determined to ensure that present ceasefire environment prevails and will pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to take action to alleviate existential problems of our people.

"The optimism the Tamils had when the Prime Minister signed the ceasefire agreement and LTTE leader is no longer there. SIHRN (Subcommittee on Immediate Humanitanarian and Rehabilitation Needs) which was set up to accelerate the rehabilitation and resettlement works in the northeast, has not received any funding support yet to carryout its activities," Mr.Thilak said.



(L-R) Nilaveli co-operative society president Mr.K.Thambiaiyah, LTTE Nilaveli political head Thooyavan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.Thilak, TEEDOR Trincomalee co-ordinator Mr.C.Tharman, Parliamentarian R.Sampanthan (speaking), Parliamentarian Thurairetnasingham ( partly hidden) Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary Mr.K.S.Jeyachandra and Kuchchaveli Police OIC Mr.Luduwyke



The opening of the LTTE war memorial was delayed for more than three months when the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) objected to the construction of it stating that it could cause breach of peace in the area.

Later the Kuchchaveli Police filed a case against the Nilaveli division political head of the LTTE Mr.Thooyavan in the Trincomalee magistrate's court seeking its intervention to prevent the erection of the war memorial. The Trincomalee magistrate had issued warrant on LTTE Nilaveli political head Mr.Thooyavan when he failed to appear in court.

On a later date the Trincomalee magistrate, on submission made by the lawyer for Mr.Thooyavan, recalled the warrant and dismissed the case stating that the police had failed to produce substantiate evidence in the case, sources said.