Double Independence celebrations in Lebanon

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Lebanon celebrated Sri Lanka's 61st Independence Day on a grand scale at two functions on February 4 and 8 attended by Embassy staff and Lebanese community on the first day and the Sri Lankan community on the second day which was a weekend.

Sri Lanka Ambassador M. Mahroof and Jezeema Mahroof were the chief guests.

Special messages sent by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama were read out by Ambassador Mahroof.

The Ambassador said they were celebrating independence on a historic occasion when Security Forces were achieving victories in combating terrorism.

As President Mahinda Rajapaksa had emphasised, the constant dream of Sri Lankans of all communities opposed to terrorism was to establish peace, freedom and democracy in their motherland. A highlight of the program was a special cultural program sponsored by the Western Union in Lebanon.