Muted celebrations
Agrand military parade was the highlight of a scaled down 75th Independence Day event held opposite Galle Face Green yesterday.
The event was held under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, with a host of local and foreign dignitaries also in attendance.
Aside from foreign diplomats based in Colombo, eight foreign dignitaries who had arrived in the country to attend the Independence Day event were also present at yesterday’s event. They were Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Japan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Takei Shunsuke, India’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V Muraleedharan, Bhutan’s Minister of Education and Skills Development Jai Bir Rai, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland, Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal, Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid and Bangladesh’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr A K Abdul Momen.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, many Cabinet Ministers and MPs from the government ranks, as well as provincial governments and former MPs were also present.
Opposition MPs however, mostly stayed away. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa boycotted the event, as did MP Dullas Alahapperuma and MPs from his group representing the Freedom People’s Alliance. The Tamil National Alliance too boycotted the celebrations.
Former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa, though invited, did not to attend yesterday’s ceremony.
With several protests expected in Colombo yesterday, authorities were not taking any chances, and a massive security operation was in place in and around the venue of the event. All roads leading to and from Galle Face were closed off from early morning and remained so until the event ended and all invitees left. Heavily armed soldiers and police personnel continued to be stationed in and around Colombo up until last evening.
This year’s main event was significantly shorter in length than previous years. After the President hoisted the National Flag amidst the beating of Magul Bera and Conch Shells, the National Anthem was sung by 105 school children. The President was then escorted to the special dais where “Jaya Mangala Gatha” and “Devo Vassathu Kalena Gatha” were sung by school girls.
A two-minute silence was observed to honour all patriots who laid down their lives for Sri Lanka, after which the President was accorded a guard of honour and a 21-gun salute.
President Wickremesinghe did not address the nation during the ceremony and as such, the march-past conducted by the Sri Lanka Army, Navy (SLN), Air Force (SLAF), Police, Civil Security Force and Cadet Corps commenced just after the 21-gun salute. The parade too was significantly shorter than those in recent years, with no cultural troupes or students taking part.
A total of 6,385 personnel and 340 armoured vehicles took part in the military parade, which commenced with the statue of a golden lion at its head. The troops marched along the Galle Face Boulevard to the tune of marching bands from their respective units.
3,284 personnel from the Army, 867 from the Navy, 695 from the Air Force, 336 from the Police, 220 from the Police
Special Task Force, 437 from the Civil Security Force and 546 from the National Cadet Corp made up this year’s parade. They were joined by 21 retired officers and 29 officers who had been disabled in the line of duty.
Several of the Navy’s larger vessels were anchored offshore while the parade took place, while SLAF aircraft flew overhead during the march-past conducted by the Air Force.
The military showcased several indigenous developed hardware during the parade. These included locally manufactured armoured vehicles, boats and Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs).
Those in the crowd showed their appreciation for the military veterans and disabled officers, rising from their seats to honour them as the vehicles carrying them traveled along the boulevard.
The highlight of the event was the parachute display from male and female parachutists from the armed forces. Jumping from an Antonov-32 transport aircraft from more than 7,000 feet, they landed expertly on their targets at Galle Face and were warmly applauded by local and foreign attendees.
This year’s Independence Day ceremony officially came to an end with the singing of the National Anthem in Tamil by school children. The practice of singing the National Anthem in Tamil at the end of the Independence Day event had begun under the Yahapalana Government when President Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister, but was scrapped under the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Mr Wickremesinghe signaled yesterday that he has revived the practice by having the National Anthem sung once again in Tamil.
Afterwards, the Sri Lanka Navy saluted the nation with a 25-gun salute at 12 noon.