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President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her Thai Pongal Day message appealed to the people to “join hands in the spirit of Thai Pongal and to put an end to the evils of war and create a prosperous Sri Lanka, based on the principle of peaceful coexistence.”
The President’s Message: “I have great pleasure in extending warm greetings to all the Tamil people in Sri Lanka who celebrate Thai Pongal today [January 14]. “It is the belief of the Tamil people that the dawn of the month of Thai would bring in a new era of peace and happiness. Hence, it is with new hopes and aspirations they greet the New Year. Let us join hands in the spirit of Thai Pongal to put an end to the evils of war and create a prosperous Sri Lanka, based on the principle of peaceful coexistence. “As the President of Sri Lanka, in the past seven years, I have worked tirelessly to resolve the ethnic conflict and usher in an era of peace. My Government started the process of political negotiations to end this conflict. We attempted to deal with the root causes of the problem. While we have not succeeded in ending the conflict, we have made such progress towards Peace. I am happy to state that the new Government elected a few weeks ago, is also taking action to continue this process. I remain committed to the process of Peace which I initiated seven years ago and shall continue to give leadership and guidance to the Government in this regard. “I send my greetings to all of you on this very auspicious occasion and wish that the dawn of Thai Pongal would herald an era of peace and tranquillity to this country as a whole.”
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The
Hindus in Sri Lanka and the world over celebrated Thai Pongal on January
14. It is an occasion for hope, sense of gratitude and reconciliation.
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