IPKF memorial to come up in Colombo

The memorial, which will bear the Ashoka chakra, is being raised nearly two decades after the IPKF was unceremoniously asked to leave Sri Lanka. Nilova Roy Chaudhury reports.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama will talk to the Indian government about a suitable time and modalities to inaugurate a memorial being built for slain personnel of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in Colombo.

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The memorial, which will bear the Indian National Emblem (Ashoka chakra), is being raised two decades after the IPKF was unceremoniously asked to leave Sri Lanka. The black marble column is likely to be ready by July. Sri Lanka is not keen to club its unveiling with the Saarc summit.

The long-delayed construction of the memorial — welcomed in India as a friendly gesture — has met virulent opposition in parts of Sri Lanka, particular among LTTE sympathizers.