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Sri Lanka’s?75th Independence Day celebrated under tight security
04 Feb, 2023
Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day was celebrated at Galle Face under tight security today.
A heavy military presence was seen on the streets in some parts of Colombo during the celebrations.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena attended the celebrations together with members of Parliament, mostly from the Government.
The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya boycotted the celebrations at Galle Face together with a number of other political parties.
However, several foreign diplomats attended the celebrations on an invitation extended by the Government.
Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, Takei Shunsuke, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Jai Bir Rai, the Minister of Education and Skills Development of Bhutan, Abdulla Shahid, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Dr A.K. Abdul Momen, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Hina Rabbani Khar, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, V. Muraleedharan, the Minister of State for External Affairs of India and Patricia Scotland, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth participated in the 75th Independence Day celebrations.
A number of roads around Galle Face were closed during the celebrations.
Hotels in the Galle Face area had also informed guests about access to the hotels being restricted owing to the rehearsals and parade.
Protests were scheduled to take place in parts of Colombo against the Independence Day celebrations yet there were no protests around Galle Face. (Colombo Gazette)
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