President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka needs to rectify its mistakes and failures. The President was speaking on the 75th anniversary of the country facing economic crisis, where Sri Lankan citizens showed him a black flag in protest.
Sri Lanka president of Ranil Wickremesinghe On Saturday, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of independence, the country needs to rectify its mistakes and failures and review its strength as a nation. He has given this speech at a time when Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Many foreign dignitaries including India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan attended the main function of Independence Day in Sri Lanka.
Wickremesinghe presided over the function. In this, a military parade was taken out with a salute of 21 guns. The ceremony took place despite criticism from opposition parties. Opposition parties had claimed that the ceremony would cost Rs 20 crore, a waste of money for a country facing its worst economic crisis since independence. In his message, Wickremesinghe said, our 75th anniversary of independence from colonial rule is being celebrated during extremely important and challenging times in the country.
Tamil minorities showed black flags
Wickremesinghe said, however, that it gives us an opportunity not only to review our strengths and progress as a nation, but also to rectify our mistakes and failures. All the opposition parties boycotted the Independence Day celebrations. He claimed that this is like putting another burden on the people already suffering from economic crisis. Black flags were shown in protest against the ceremony in the Tamil minority-dominated northern region.
President pardons 622 convicts
Tight security arrangements were made in Colombo and armed forces were deployed on the streets. Police dispersed a group of protestors using tear gas in the middle of the night. At least four protesters were arrested. On the occasion of Independence Day, 208 officers and 7,790 personnel of the Sri Lankan Army were promoted. On this occasion, the President pardoned 622 convicts.
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