In his remarks at this event, the Ambassador recalled the national commemoration of the War Heroes Remembrance Day, which was held in Matara. The significance of this year’s national commemoration lay in the importance placed on fostering reconciliation together with development efforts, to unite the hearts and minds of the different communities of Sri Lanka. The commemoration was reflective of the Declaration of Peace adopted at Sri Lanka’s 67th anniversary of independence on February 4th this year, which paid respect to all the citizens of the country of all ethnicities and religions who lost their lives due to the tragic conflict and to all the victims of violence since independence.

The Ambassador highlighted the remarks by President Maithripala Sirisena at the national commemoration in Matara stating that the new government’s policy is “development and reconciliation”, observing that “we cannot fulfill our expectations for reconciliation only through development. The reconciliation process primarily includes truth seeking, justice, eliminating fear and mistrust, building trust among the communities and rebuilding destroyed physical infrastructure. Hence, with the experiences of the war, we must understand the utmost need for a reconciliation process.”