Independence Day in Saudi:

Emphasis on unity, development

Mohammed Rasooldeen in Riyadh

Sri Lanka’s 64th Independence Day was celebrated in Saudi Arabia on Saturday with a call to its expatriates in the Kingdom to maintain unity and work for the development of the country. ‘It is incumbent on all, both present and future generations of Sri Lankans to protect and keep united our motherland and help in its development’, Sri Lanka Ambassador Ahmed A Jawad told his countrymen at the Independence Day celebrations held at the embassy on Saturday.

He stressed that it is the best tribute that Sri Lankans could pay for the sacrifices made by those heroic men and women. He said the long term challenge is to build on the peace. While the government has its own role, each one of us could and should help us in this giant task, he said.

“We are people of one nation and we have to contribute our best to the socio-economic and political developments of the country, while practising our own religion and belonging to our own respective cultures, it is certainly possible to reach out to other communities and be of any possible assistance to them,” he said.

By doing so, he added that it does not take away our own identity in the slightest.

While commending the services of the expatriates community in the Kingdom, he said that the foreign remittances from Sri Lankan workers in the Middle East had reached $ 2.5 billion in 2010. A significant portion of this sum came from the 350,000 Sri Lankans working in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has the largest concentration of Lankan workers in the Middle East. Earlier, Ambassador Jawad unfurled the national flag amidst the beat of drums (Magul bera). Then the community members joined the choir of the Sri Lankan International School in Riyadh to sing the national anthem. It was followed by the singing of Jayamangala Gatha and observance of two-minutes silence in memory of fallen heroes. “This was done as a mark of respect to all those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation, Jawad said. “Some members of the Armed Forces and the police have paid the supreme sacrifice to defend Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and our long-cherished multiparty democratic system,” he added.

The traditional oil lamp was lit by the ambassador, diplomats and prominent community members to mark the day. Ambassador Jawad, Labour Counselor Anura Muthumala and Attache Abdul Rasheed read out the message of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in English, Sinhalese and Tamil respectively.