Sri Lanka Must Correct Its 'Errors And Failures', Says President Wickremesinghe At 75th Independence Day

Colombo, Feb 4 (PTI) Sri Lanka needs to rectify its 'errors and failures' and review its strengths and gains as a nation, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday, as the country marked its 75th anniversary of independence at a critical time when it is reeling under an unprecedented economic crisis.

The main Independence Day event was attended by foreign dignitaries, including India's Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan.

Wickremesinghe presided over the ceremony which featured a military parade with a 21-gun salute.

The celebrations happened despite criticism from Opposition groups who claimed the events costing Rupees 200 million were a waste as the island nation continues to grip in its worst economic crisis since gaining independence.

In his message, Wickremesinghe said: “Our 75th anniversary of independence from colonial rule is being observed during an extremely critical and challenging time in the country”.

“However it presents an opportunity for us not only to review our strengths and gains as a nation but also to rectify our errors and failures,' he said.

During mid-2022 Sri Lanka faced the worst economic crisis since independence which led to months-long public protests leading to a political crisis.

Shortages of essentials due to the forex crisis forced people onto the streets demanding the resignation of the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Last year in April, Sri Lanka declared its first-ever debt default in its history.

Muraleedharan said he was happy to represent India at 'friendly neighbour' Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations.

'This milestone coincides with 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of Sri Lanka,' he tweeted.

Last year, India extended USD 3.9 billion in support to Sri Lanka to deal with the economic crisis. New Delhi recently gave assurance to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restructure the country's debt.

Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the IMF, was negotiating to get financial assurances from its major creditors -- China, Japan and India, which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package.

Saturday's Independence day event was boycotted by all Opposition groups who claimed it had no public mandate and was a burden on a public already hurt by the crisis.

They pointed to scarcities of food and medicine leaving people in poverty.

In the Tamil minority-dominated north, black flags were raised in protest. Tamils claimed they were denied political freedom since the Britons left in 1948.

Sinhalese, mostly Buddhist, make up nearly 75 per cent of Sri Lanka's 22 million population while Tamils are 15 per cent.

The city of Colombo was placed on a tight security net with armed troops being seen on the streets.

A sit-in protest organised by a group of protesters from last year’s months-long protest was dispersed by the police using tear gas at midnight. At least four protesters were arrested.

The police had obtained a court order preventing public protests anywhere near the Galle Face promenade where the main celebratory event happened. Some 29 people had been named in the court order to stay away from the main location of celebrations.

To mark Independence Day, 208 officers and 7,790 other ranks of the Sri Lanka Army have been promoted. Presidential pardons were given to 622 convicts.

In a message a day ahead of the celebrations, President Wickremesinghe shared that efforts are underway for renewed economic development.

“There is a new economic and social reform agenda before the country with the objectives focusing first on recovery and then on renewed development. It is imperative for us to unite in its implementation so that we can emerge with a high level of economic prosperity,” he said.

He went on the pledge that “extremely” difficult, yet vital decisions would be made to achieve the goal, which would be realised with “courage and determination”.

“I anticipate the confidence and support of you, the people of our country, in this endeavour,” Wickremesinghe added.

'On this historic anniversary, let us all resolve to meet the challenges of this year with further patience and fortitude,” he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)