{"id":98565,"date":"2020-02-03T07:39:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T14:39:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=98565"},"modified":"2020-02-04T15:06:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T22:06:14","slug":"sri-lanka-must-celebrate-republic-day-on-22-may-not-4th-february-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/02\/03\/sri-lanka-must-celebrate-republic-day-on-22-may-not-4th-february-independence-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka must celebrate Republic Day on 22 May not 4th February Independence Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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What do we think we are celebrating on 4th<\/sup> February every year? Our independence from colonial rule. But did we really get independence on 4th<\/sup> February 1948? We didn\u2019t because we became by choice a dominion of the British Empire. It was only on 22 May 1972 that Sri Lanka shred all ties with the colonial British & became a true Republic. With 19 May 2009 becoming a significant milestone in view of our armed forces uniting the entire island under one national flag we should ideally hold 19 May as Victory Day, 22 May as Republic Day and the week covering this celebration as Heroes Week. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our\nisland nation was attacked over 17 times from South Indian invaders though no\ninvader was able to take over and rule the entirety of the island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then\ncame 3 western European colonial explorers. The Portuguese, Dutch or the\nBritish also failed to conquer the island. They tried but they failed. But they\ndid eventually take over the island primarily as a result of our own people\nbetraying the island. Our own betrayed the island & its people to the\nPortuguese, our own betrayed our island & its people to the Dutch and our\nown betrayed our island and its people to the British and that DNA of treachery\n& betrayal appears to be continuing. It was always a case of \u2018inguru dee\nmiris gaththa wage\u2019 \u0d89\u0d9f\u0dd4\u0dbb\u0dd4 \u0daf\u0dd3\u0dbd\u0dcf \u0db8\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0dc3\u0dca \u0d9c\u0dad\u0dca\u0dad\u0dcf \u0dc0\u0d9c\u0dda exchanging ginger for chillies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With\nthe signing of the Kandyan Convention the island of Sinhale came under British\nrule and Sinhale was christened Ceylon. The British ruled till 1948 when\ndecolonization of other colonies led to Sri Lanka getting dominion status on 4\nFebruary 1948. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\nHead of State of Ceylon remained first King George VI until 1952 his daughter\nElizabeth II was crowned Queen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Independence\ndid not even change our name back to Sinhale. We continued as Ceylon with the\nQueen as Head of State and final judicial decisions decided by UK Privy\nCouncil. Britain continued to maintain air & sea bases in \u2018Ceylon\u2019 and\nBritish officers continued to fill the high ranks in the army!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nCitizenship Act of 1948 & the Official Language Act of 1956 were both introduced\nwith the consent of the UK Privy Council. The British monarch held final\nauthority on all legislation. No bill presented to the Ceylon Parliament could\nbecome law until the Monarch\u2019s royal assent was given as the Constitution of\nCeylon at independence made the British monarch part of Ceylon Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what is the\nindependence Sri Lanka enjoyed? What are we really celebrating annually?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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True\nindependence came only in 1972 with the Republican Constitution when the Queen\nwas no longer head of State and Sri Lanka had its own judiciary to determine judicial\nmatters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article\n3 of the new constitution asserted Sovereignty was with the People and it was\ninalienable. Article 13 removed the British monarch from the legislature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nsadly the name Sinhale was again forgotten and instead Ceylon was replaced with\nSri Lanka. Hon. William Gopallawa became the First Non-Executive\nPresident while Hon. Sirimavo Bandaranaike continued in office as Prime Minister.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nwe are to be proud to be truly independent, it also questions why we remain\nembracing the Commonwealth where the Queen remains ceremonial monarch! Myanmar\non the other hand left the Commonwealth when it became independent. It is not\ntoo late for Sri Lanka to leave the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nwe are to celebrate as a nation, we must celebrate with meaning and\nsignificance. There is nothing significant to celebrate of 4th<\/sup> February\nwhen realizing that the Queen was head of state, the UK courts had the final\nsay and British bases remained on our island even after 1948. All that changed\nin 1972 with the Republican Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter,\nthe island nation was plagued with 2 insurrections and terrorism by LTTE. LTTE\nheld defacto territory even given to the officially via 2002 ceasefire.\nHowever, by order of the then Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces the\nNational Army was ordered to militarily defeat the LTTE and reunite the country\nunder one national flag. LTTE was vanquished on 19 May 2009 bringing Sri Lanka\nunder one rule. That Victory Day must continue to be celebrated just as The Allies\ncontinue to celebrate V Day against Nazi Germany and end of World War 2. Every\nyear key battles are enacted still. No one has any right to downplay Sri Lanka\u2019s\nmilitary defeat of LTTE terrorists by defining it as \u2018triumphalism\u2019. If so, the\nsame must accuse the Allies of celebrating \u2018triumphalism\u2019 too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Therefore, it is suggested that Sri Lanka celebrate Republic Day \u2013 22 May together with Victory Day and declare the week as Heroes Week in honor of all the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives and limb to defend the Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shenali D Waduge <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/archives.dailynews.lk\/2009\/05\/22\/supstory.asp?id=s26<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/02\/04\/nothing-to-celebrate-about-a-dominion-status-in-4-february-1948-sri-lanka-must-celebrate-22-may-1972-republic-day\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RETURN of Don Juan Dharmapala (2015 \u2013 2019)<\/a><\/blockquote>