68th Anniversary of Independence Celebrated in Canberra – High Commissioner Somasundaram Skandakumar

The 68th anniversary of Independence was celebrated at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra on the morning of 4th February with the participation of the Sri Lankan community in Canberra.

Following the hoisting of the national flag by High Commissioner Somasundaram Skandakumar, the National Anthem and Jayamangala gatha was sung by school children. All those present observed two minutes silence to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for Independence and in protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Senior members of the Sri Lankan community representing all ethnicities of Sri Lanka as well two children representing the future generation joined the High Commissioner in lighting the traditional oil lamp.

Multi religious blessings were also conducted in Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Islam traditions, and the Independence Day Messages of President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera were read out.

Addressing the large gathering of well wishers who attended the function, High Commissioner Skandakumar drew attention to the salient points of the messages that had just been read, each of which placed reconciliation, reconstruction and economic development as the government’s highest priority.

He observed that on 9th of January 2015 when President Maithripala Sirisena was elected, the first statement the President made was that every citizen of the country would be treated equally as a Sri Lankan. He then went on to a Declaration of Peace on Independence Day in 2015, where respect was paid to all lives that were lost in the conflict and in violence since Independence. The President then moved to dilute his own powers, and had it written into the Constitution that the President of the country would be the symbol of national unity.

The 19th amendment to the Constitution further ensured the independence of the judiciary, the public service, the police, through the appointment of the Constitutional Council. The High Commissioner added that these democratic actions were endorsed by the people at the General Election in August 2015. Thereafter the Prime Minister has spelt out his vision for the future in terms of economic development by stressing the importance of ensuring multi-religious, multicultural and multi-ethnic harmony as a prerequisite for meaningful development in the country.

The High Commissioner further stated that we come into this world as equals as none of us have a choice in our birth. He added that when God calls time on our lives we also leave this world humbly as equals. He then asked the question, why then must we treat the interim unequally?