National ceremony to mark tsunami anniversary

The main national ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of the tsunami will be held in Peraliya on December 26. The Jayalanka rehabilitation programme for tsunami-hit children will also start on this occasion.

President Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanyake, Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara and a host of other invitees will participate in this ceremony at the Jinaratana Vidyalaya.

The ceremony will feature Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic religious rites. A stamp will be issued to mark the tsunami's first anniversary while the invitees will also pay floral tributes to the tsunami memorial at the site.

They will observe two minutes' silence in memory of those who perished in the disaster, the biggest in recent history.