INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE OF H.E. THE AMBASSADOR OF

INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE OF H.E. THE AMBASSADOR OF SRI LANKA

Today, Feb. 4, 2003, Sri Lanka celebrates her 55th anniversary of gaining Independence from her colonial ruler. It is my great pleasure on this very special day to address our Indonesian friends, and the Sri Lankans and others living here who have roots in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka and Indonesia have had very close religious, political, cultural, economic and commercial relations over a millennium. Both countries have many things in common, to name a few, the flora and fauna, peoples of diverse ethnic origins who belong to the great religions of the world, and political systems. Both Indonesia and Sri Lanka have been very closely associated with the political philosophy that led to the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement together with the great statesmen of different nations at that time.

Sri Lankans and Indonesians have been visiting each other even before modern modes of transportation evolved, and have enriched each other's cultures. Evidence for this can be found in all aspects of the lives of the people, such as the cuisine, clothing and furniture in use in both countries.

The problems facing the two countries are also similar. As Indonesia has been facing political turmoil in areas such Aceh, over the last two decades we in Sri Lanka have been faced with a revolt aimed at forming a separate state in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Both Sri Lanka and Indonesia are now on the path towards normalcy and finding a solution to these problems, thus ushering in a period of peace. In fact, for more than a year Sri Lankans have now been enjoying peace in their country.

I am happy to state that the tourism industry in Sri Lanka has been flourishing since the peace talks began. Not a single bomb exploded on the island over the last year. Therefore, I would like to suggest to our Indonesian friends that this is the time to visit Sri Lanka, which is a very safe place for tourists of all nationalities. For our Indonesian friends in particular, Srilankan Airlines provides a very comfortable direct flight to Colombo and back.

I wish you all well.

H.K.J.R. Bandara Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia