• Shanakiyan Rasamanickam requests black flags to be hoisted protesting Govt.’s ‘failure’ 

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam yesterday (25) urged the people to commemorate a “black” Independence Day on the 75th Independence Day celebrations on 4 February, by hoisting a black flag in front of their houses, claiming that despite six months having passed since President Ranil Wickremesinghe came to power, none of the country’s issues have been resolved. 

Addressing the media, Rasamanickam noted: “We hear that the 75th Independence Day is to be commemorated on 4 February. Who actually has independence in this country on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day? The common people of this country have not got freedom. On the 75th Independence Day, we only have $ 52 billion in debt, when this country did not have such debts before.” 

He further charged that all people of this country have been economically imprisoned, made debtors, and that their future has been destroyed. 

“A situation has been created where our children flee the country. Is this true freedom? I don’t accept that,” he added. “Independence was gained from the British imperialists, but we have been imprisoned for 75 years by the political families in this country. Therefore, I don’t say that 4 February is not the 75th Independence Day, but that it is a day without 75 years of Independence, and that it is a day with 75 years of pain, betrayal, and oppression of the people of our country. Therefore, when celebrating the 75th Independence Day, hoist a black flag in front of every house in Sri Lanka. Put up flags on the roads. Was the stolen money taken back to date? 

“It has been six months since President Wickremesinghe came to power. Did they apprehend the perpetrators of the sugar scam, the coconut oil scam, and the Easter Sunday terror attacks? Did we receive money from the International Monetary Fund? There are power cuts during the GCE A/L examination. Is it possible to purchase goods from shops and provide meals for children? Where is our independence? Is this a joke? 

“We will commemorate this as the black Independence Day in Batticaloa. Let anyone celebrate it, but I will surely commemorate a black Independence Day in Batticaloa. Don’t let politicians commemorate this; let common people commemorate it. This is not against Sri Lanka, but a message against the rulers.”

Meanwhile, a sum of Rs. 200 million has been allocated for the 75th Independence Day celebration to be held on 4 February at the Galle Face in Colombo, said Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Neel Bandara Hapuhinna. He noted that the Treasury has already made the necessary budgetary allocations for the ceremony, adding however that the Ministry is attempting its best to cut down on the costs of organising the said event.