Sri Lanka salutes war heroes

[June 8, 2005 - 10.00 GMT]

President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a message to commemorate War Heroes' Day which fell yesterday, June 7 said, “…personnel of the three Armed Forces and the Police, who confronted the ethnic war that began two decades ago and were killed or maimed in action truly deserve to be honoured as war heroes of Sri Lanka.

President Kumaratunga in 2000 declared June 7 as National War Heroes’ Day (Ranaviru Day) when Sri Lanka salutes her living, disabled, and fallen war heroes.

Ceremonies to commemorate the Day took place at the National Remembrance Park in Mailapitiya, Kandy and a new postage stamp was officially cancelled during the ceremonies.

Full text of President’s message:

It is an incumbent responsibility and duty on our part to protect and hand down to posterity this virtuous land of ours preserved by our ancestors throughout several millennia. 

On each and every occasion of invasion of the Motherland by foreign enemies, our ancestors confronted the enemy staking their lives and protected the sovereignty of the country. Thousands and thousands of warriors sacrificed their lives to protect the land of their birth. We are duty bound to sacrifice our own lives to protect this land which we inherit as a result of their supreme sacrifices. 

Today is the day we dedicate ourselves to pay respect to the gallant soldiers who stake their lives to save the country. Their names will go down in history as war heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their Motherland. 

Those personnel of the three Armed Forces and the Police, who confronted the ethnic war that began two decades ago and were killed or maimed in action truly deserve to be honoured as war heroes of Sri Lanka. 

Let us on this occasion resolve not to break apart this land of ours which they protect at the risk of their lives. 

The ‘Sri Lanka Ranaviru Wansaya’ is a historical chronology of war heroes which will reach the hands of the future generation as a biographical gift embodying the chapter of Sri Lankan gallantry of our time. 

I am grateful to the Ranaviru Authority, the three Armed Forces, the Police and the Government Press for their efforts to bring out this invaluable book.

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Last Updated Date: June 8, 2005 - 10.00 GMT