{"id":111420,"date":"2021-02-07T16:55:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T23:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=111420"},"modified":"2021-02-07T16:55:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T23:55:08","slug":"embassy-in-washington-dc-celebrates-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/02\/07\/embassy-in-washington-dc-celebrates-independence-day\/","title":{"rendered":"EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON DC CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY-"},"content":{"rendered":"

Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington, DC<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Flag<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ambassador\nAryasinha announces launching of \u2018Pan-US Overseas Sri Lankans Network\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The\n73rd <\/sup>Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka was celebrated on\n4 February at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C., with the\nparticipation of religious dignitaries, representatives from the US State\nDepartment and the Embassy Staff, with the Sri Lankan community and friends of\nSri Lanka across the US joining virtually in view of the prevailing pandemic\nrelated restrictions.
\nThe ceremony commenced with the hoisting of the national flag by Ambassador\nRavinatha Aryasinha, amidst the chanting of seth pirith by the Venerable Maha\nSangha. The National Anthem of Sri Lanka was sung followed by the observance of\ntwo-minutes silence in remembrance of heroes who sacrificed their lives to\npreserve and protect the freedom, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity\nof the motherland. Following the lighting of the traditional oil lamp, the Maha\nSangha and members of the clergy belonging to Hindu, Islam and Christian faiths\nconducted religious observances.  
\nConducting Buddhist Religious observances, the Most Venarable Katugastota\nUparatana Thero, Chief Priest of the Maryland Buddhist Vihara and Chief\nSanganayake of North America, observed Pansil, and the Most Venerable Dr.\nAggamaha Panditha Walpola Piyananda Nayake thero of the Los Angeles Buddhist\nVihara invoked blessing, followed by the chanting of Seth Pirith by all priests\nwho joinined virtually. Swami Ragupathi Kurukkal observed Hindu religious\nobservances and blessed with a recital of Hindu prayers. Rev. Father Dilantha\nArachchilage of the Hope Community Church in Arlington conducted Christian\nprayers and offered blessings. Mr Seyed Rizwan Mowlana, representing the Islam\nfaith, recited verses from the holy Quran and invoked blessings for the country\nfor peace and harmony.
\nThe Independence Day Messages of H.E. the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Hon.\nPrime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Hon. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena\nwere read out by the staff of the Mission in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
\nMr. Dean Thompson, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central\nAsian Affairs of the US Department of State who attended the ceremony as the\nGuest of Honor, in remarks, said he appreciated very much the inclusion of\nreligious observances from the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Christian faiths,\nas well as the reading of the Independence Day messages in the three languages,\nwhich is a reminder that this island nation is made stronger by its diversity.\nHe observed that since Sri Lanka’s independence 73 years ago, Sri Lanka and the\nUnited States have been partners in development, drawn together by a shared\ncommitment to protect and promote democracy, human rights, the rule of law and\nequal justice for all. Noting that the US looks forward to partnering with and\nsupporting the Sri Lankan people as they address challenges, realize the\nnation’s true potential and draw strength from their diversity, Mr. Thompson\nsaid the two countries have many shared values and interests, including\nfostering economic growth, countering violent extremism, strengthening people\nto people ties and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region where all\ncountries can prosper.
\nIn his address to mark the occasion, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha extended\nhis appreciation for all who joined the independence celebrations – physically,\nas well as mainly virtually. The Ambassador who detailed the Sri Lanka\ngovernment\u2019s priorities at present, and several dimensions of the Sri Lanka \u2013\nUS partnership, recalled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u2019s recent congratulatory\nmessage to US President Joe Biden, where he assured that Sri Lanka, under my\nleadership, based on the mandate received from my people, is committed to\nfurther strengthen and consolidate this multifaceted partnership with the\nUnited States, grounded in mutual respect, shared values and common interests\u201d.\nReferring to the key initiatives undertaken by the new Government to address\nthe Sri Lanka\u2019s economic and national security challenges, to strengthen\nreconciliation, and to promote and protect human rights through domestic\nmechanisms, Ambassador Aryasinha urged that all pay heed to the facts, without\nbeing misled, and recognize the difficult tasks the government of Sri Lanka has\nembarked upon in a short time notwithstanding grappling with a pandemic that\nhas crippled most of the world. He urged that all work towards unity and\ndevelopment, so that Sri Lanka will prosper and Sri Lanka – US friendship will\ngrow.
\nAmbassador Aryasinha who noted that on 31 January the Embassy took an ambitious\nstep in launching the \u2018Pan-US Overseas Sri Lankans (OSL) Network\u2019, aimed at\nsupporting OSL activities and to leverage their support towards realizing the\ninterests of Sri Lanka in the US, said the core areas of focus of this\nNetwork will be \u2013 advocacy of Sri Lanka, economic advancement and\nsocio-cultural engagement. Observing that he was encouraged to see the\nparticipation of OSLs from 27 States across the US and their commitment towards\nthis new initiative, he said, the Embassy is in the process of expanding this\n\u2018network\u2019 to cover all States in the US. It will also be developing \u2018nodal\nclusters\u2019 across each State, in order to bring together OSLs to work\ncollectively on the areas of focus identified. This network will also have\noverarching \u2018interest clusters\u2019 – including to engage with OSL\nentrepreneurs, youth, and academics, as well as to reach out to non-Sri Lankan\n\u2018Friends of Sri Lanka\u2019 throughout the USA. He was hopeful that this network\nwill be a powerful vehicle in serving the interests of the OSLs in the US,\nkeeping them connected with their motherland, and in ensuring that they become\n\u2018catalysts\u2019 in taking the US-Sri Lanka relationship to greater heights.\nAmbassador Aryasinha urged the support of the State Department, to engage the\ntotality of the US based OSLs, so that they become a strength to both their\nhost country, as well as to their home country.
\nThe ceremony came to a close with the serving of traditional milk rice and Sri\nLankan sweetmeats to those present.
\n
\nEmbassy of Sri Lanka
\nWashington, DC
\n04 February 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"HE's<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington, DC Ambassador Aryasinha announces launching of \u2018Pan-US Overseas Sri Lankans Network\u2019 The 73rd Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka was celebrated on 4 February at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C., with the participation of religious dignitaries, representatives from the US State Department and the Embassy Staff, with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}