Consulate General of Sri Lanka, Toronto

Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Toronto organized a Flag Hoisting Ceremony as part of the celebrations to mark the 72^nd Independence Day of Sri Lanka at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 04 February 2020 with the participation of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Ted Arnott, Members of the Provincial Parliament, Members of the Consular Corps, dignitaries and Sri Lankan community residing in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and its suburbs. This is the first time in the history, the Consulate General of Sri Lanka organized a Flag Hoisting Ceremony at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The event commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag by Consul General of Sri Lanka Kapila Jayaweera followed by singing of the National Anthems of Sri Lanka and the Canada.

Addressing the gathering, the Hon. Speaker said that Canada and Sri Lanka have been long standing bilateral partners and expects the relationship to strengthen further.

“Timelines evolved externally in achieving stated objectives would only seek to hinder the process of reconciliation since they would be bereft of ground realities” emphasized Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Kshenuka Senewiratne during a one day debate at the UN Security Council titled “Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Transitional Justice in conflict and post-conflict situations,” held on 13^th February 2020.  She added that when seeking mechanisms of transitional justice, related simple theories would need to also take cognizance of the various historical, cultural and religious sensitivities.

Ambassador Senewiratne stated that the basic tenet of a transitional justice process is the application of its theoretical principles on State obligations and it is the State that needs to pursue truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence. She further explained that the post conflict milieu of each country is unique and those traversing the path of post-conflict transition and reconciliation have often made deliberate efforts to maintain a balance between the speed of the transitional justice process and desired standard which includes inclusiveness and the sustainability.

The Permanent Representative referred to the newly elected President, His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa having pledged to work towards guaranteeing human rights and political and economic freedom for his people in a truly democratic Sri Lanka.  She added that the President had also espoused that every citizen of Sri Lanka has the right to live freely and securely, holding independent opinions, following the religion of choice and freedom of association and assembly, being rights that no one can challenge.

The Permanent Representative sought to reiterate that the action by the Sri Lankan security forces during the conflict was against a group designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, and even described as ruthless by some, and not aimed at any community in the country.  She elaborated that the modus operandi of suicide attacks adopted by this terrorist group, which for the first time in history deliberately targeted civilians, is now being emulated expansively by similar groups globally.