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