Sri Lankans hold peace rally in Washington DC

Philip Fernando

Several hundred Sri Lankan Americans and friends of Sri Lanka gathered in Washington for a daylong peace rally in support of the Sri Lankan victory over the LTTE earlier this week.

Billed as Sri Lanka: One nation - under one flag, the rally organised by “We are Sri Lankans” was held in the shadow of The White House. The rally was attended by Sri Lankan Americans cutting across ethnic and religious persuasions.

They hailed from several parts of the country including Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, New Jersey, New York and Washington D.C.

“Today’s rally was a show of solidarity in response to the Government’s humanitarian mission to rescue thousands of civilians and put an end to the 26-year-old conflict with the LTTE and widespread terrorism,” said one of the rally’s organisers.

“We are now a fully sovereign nation under one flag and one democratic ideal. We are now fortunate to move forward as a stronger and more peaceful, prosperous society.”