Greeting from President Kumaratunga

Fifty years is all too brief for a nation that has a recorded history of well over 2,500 years. However, the last 50 years was a new phase in our history. On Feb. 4, 1948 we regained our freedom as a nation. In the ensuing years our sovereignty was completed, first by the withdrawal of foreign military bases and finally by the declaration of ourselves as a sovereign republic.

At the dawn of independence the more perceptive and the socially sensitive among our leaders saw the event as only the opening of a vast vista of opportunity -- an opportunity for the reestablishment of our national identity.

We have had our successes and failures. It is for a future historian to assess whether on balance we have spent our time well. There is no gainsaying the fact that the quality of life has improved for the vast majority of our people. There has been a cultural resurgence. We have made giant strides in the fields of education, health, culture and art, the law, industry and technology.

At this decisive moment in the history of our country, while we take pride in our achievements, let us have the humility to accept our failures. We have failed to forge together the diverse communities of our peoples into one coherent and strong Sri Lankan nation. We have faltered along for 50 years, permitting the differences to emerge and dominate our social fabric, rather than nurture the commonalities.

The fissures have now deepened to the extent that some groups desire to carry their diversity to the point of separation from the whole. This has caused a devastation of such immense and tragic proportions as the country has never experienced in its entire history.

The flower of our youth is being decimated in a fratricidal war. National assets worth billions of rupees are being destroyed. We are compelled to divert to the war effort vast sums of money which would otherwise have gone to improve our children's lives and to provide productive employment for them.

We must reconcile ourselves to the reality of a Sri Lankan society comprising diverse elements and make the compromises and the mutual accommodations that such diversity entails, while safeguarding our territorial integrity and the richness of diversity, if we wish to enter the next 50 years of independence without the bitterness and violence caused by ethnic strife.

If we can individually and collectively take the mature and wise path of peace we are poised to enter the brightest era of our history.

I am confident that the vast majority of our people will make the right decision. I am confident that there has been a revolution in their thinking. I am confident that we will put the bitterness of the past behind us and together we a shall march forward to the 21st century as a united, strong and resurgent nation.

Let that be our resolve when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our independence on Feb. 4, 1998.

May the blessing of the Noble Triple Gem be with you.