Another war memorial! 

The Defence Secretary opened a war memorial at Elephant Pass. 

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on tour to Jaffna this morning opened a war memorial at Elephant Pass which constructed in remembers the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during humanitarian rescue operations, sources said. 

Earlier on December 9^th President Mahinda Rajapaksa unveiled a monument in Nandikadal lagoon at Pudumathalan, Pudukudirruppu in honour of the Sri Lankan soldiers engaged in the mission against LTTE and its leadership where in the final battle LTTE chief Late Velupillai Pirabaharan’s body was found and the end came to this 27 years war. 

That time Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the 3Forces Commanders Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya and many other senior officers represented the event. 

As per Srilankan Army media, “a special War Hero Memorial, erected in honour of fallen War Heroes, was ceremonially unveiled by Secretary Defence Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa Friday (30) morning, amidst a pantheon of military chiefs, including Chief of Defence Staff, Commander of the Army and Commander of the Navy.”  

“Elephant Pass War Hero Memorial, a fitting tribute to the memory of thousands of gallant soldiers whose legendary heroic saga speaks of more deeds than words, will from now onwards remain forever, mustering reverence and admiration of the Nation since they all had laid their lives for the sake of country's territorial integrity and unitary nature during those battles, reminiscent of historic Gannoruwa battles in 1638. The monument also stands out as a token of living memory for soldiers since it was the point where northbound 57 and 58 Divisions met up with their fellow soldiers from 53 and 55 Divisions who were moving southward from Jaffna.  

Elephant Pass, the bottleneck gateway to Jaffna peninsula fell into Army hands on 9th January 2009 again after Elephant Pass Army camp was captured by LTTE terrorists on 20th April 2000. Heroic soldiers, as the Wanni humanitarian operations were on, torpedoed LTTE strongholds completely and recaptured the entire isthmus, marking a milestone in the annals of the Eelam history.  

Friday's (30) unveiling of the Elephant Pass War Hero Memorial by Mr Rajapaksa on the invitation of Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army signals the importance being attached to the memory of those yesteryear patriots whose dedication and selfless sacrifices brought the war against terrorism to an end.  

Mr Rajapaksa on arrival at Elephant Pass was warmly welcomed by Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya and Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Commander, Security Forces, Jaffna. A bevy of traditional Kandyan dancers accompanied him to the dais, from where the Secretary Defence received the salute and inspected the Guard of Honour.”  

Earlier before the Presidential election Presisent Mahinda Rajapaksa opened a war memorial in Nandikadal lagoon at Pudumathalan, now after the parliament election his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa opened another war memorial in A9 Elephant Pass.  

But the Tamil ministers who are in the government the Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devnanda, Deputy Resettlement Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan and Deputy Economic Development Minister Muthu Sivalingam missed these events.