The Victory Monument of Puthukkudiyiruppu & War Museum (Sinhala: පුදුකුඩිඉරුප්පු ස්මාරකය සහ යුධ කෞතුකාගාරය) have been set up on the wayside of the Parantan-Mullaitivu road, near the Nanthi Kadal lagoon in Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. It was unveiled in the presence of the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa on 12 October 2019 (McCargo & Senaratne, 2020).
The Victory Monument
The monument which represents a soldier carrying the Sri Lankan lion flag and a weapon was erected to symbolize the success of the Wanni Humanitarian Operation, an operation carried out during the final phase of the 26 years long Sri Lanka Civil War that ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by 32 countries. The pond around the monument symbolizes the ocean surrounding the country and the national flower lilies which bloom in it symbolize the Sri Lankan nation. The granite boulders laden at the base of the monument represent the soil and the four lions standing at the four cardinal points portray the warriors who came from all directions to protect the country by sacrificing their lives. The soldier who emerges from the ground holding a weapon symbolizes the heroic troops while the lion flag on his hand depicts the pride of the country. The pigeon taking wings symbolized the conspicuous peace to the nation.
The War Museum
The war museum is located next to the Victory Monument. It displays several weapons and assault vehicles/ships used by the LTTE rebels during the civil war (Hyndman & Amarasingam, 2014).
See also
References
1) Hyndman, J. and Amarasingam, A., 2014. Touring “Terrorism”: Landscapes of Memory in Post‐War Sri Lanka. Geography Compass, 8(8), pp.560-575.
2) McCargo, D. and Senaratne, D., 2020. Victor’s memory: Sri Lanka’s post-war memoryscape in comparative perspective. Conflict, Security & Development, 20(1), pp.97-113.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 24 March 2024