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THE OBSERVER

The Oldest English Newspaper in South Asia
Founded 4.2.1834
P. O. Box 1217,
35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha,
Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.
Telephone: Editor - 94-1-429226; Fax: 94-1-429230

Freedom Day

Fifty four years ago, on the Fourth of February, 1948, the 'nation-state' of Sri Lanka was formally created and the British colonial rulers handed over power to a Sri Lankan government. This island community of peoples of various religions, ethnic groups, castes, classes and genders, became free of direct foreign domination and exploitation.

After 450 years of European colonial invasion and domination, our island people looked forward with much hope to that fateful day which dawned on February 4th, 1948. Fifty four years later, we, Sri Lankans, are again, looking forward with much hope to another fateful day. Our hope is for a day to dawn soon when the leaders of this country, of all communities, will formally declare an end to the internal war and an end to ethnic rivalry and hostility.

If February 1948 was a watershed in the history of our island community, we have had many others since then, not all of them heralding developments that were good for our society. Many have been the moments that have served only to divide our island community. Many have been moments of intense violence and social pain, the scars of which still mark society and will do so until the war ends.

If our society gathered itself and made a huge collective effort in the 1930s and 1940s in the campaign to win freedom, such an effort is required yet again today. If, then, we were bowed under the heel of imperial rule, now we suffer from the ravages of internal war and ethnic rivalry.

Colonial rule was the single most important challenge we had to overcome in mid-twentieth century. At the dawn of the twenty first century we must meet the challenge of building a nation-state that would resolve civil war and communal rivalries. In 1948, our forefathers and mothers won our freedom. We have yet to begin enjoying it

together, as an island community.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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