In the early hours of last Friday as close to 9,000 men and women from the Sri Lankan armed forces prepared themselves for a parade along the Galle Face green, a light drizzle swept Colombo. Calling the parade a commemoration of its military victory over the LTTE, the Sri Lankan government had earlier scheduled it to be held on May 18 but incremental weather forced a deferment. Much to the relief of government officials and this country’s defence establishment, despite the initial greyness, subtle sunshine appeared on June 18 just as the parade was about to begin.
It was around 8.30 a.m. when Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s black Mercedes Benz accompanied by guards on horses and bikers of the military police reached the Galle Face green. Prior to his arrival, there was a mini parade of automobiles. Members of President Rajapaksa’s government, parliamentarians, top officers of the armed forces and diplomats rode in their BMWs and Volkswagens to a stretch of the Galle Road adjoining the Taj Samudra hotel where temporary sheds had been created for invitees to sit and watch the defence display.
While few guests appeared groggy, a group of very young children dressed in blue excitedly waved Sri Lankan flags. “It is true that Sri Lanka achieved Independence in 1948 but true freedom came to us only on May 18, 2009,” said a commentator in English.
His fellow commentators spoke in Sinhala and Tamil languages through the ceremony. After the President arrived, homage was paid to the armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the civil war. A late entrant to the venue was ruling party MP from Colombo, Duminda Silva who came in sparkling white clothes, as the 21 gun salutes were underway.
President Rajapaksa and the three services chiefs then boarded an open army jeep along with Major General Kamal Gunaratne who was conducting the parade and inspected the troops standing by the Indian Ocean. A couple of persons, presumably from the State media, ran behind the jeep with video cameras. Photographers stood on elevated podiums overlooking the Galle Road. Like the troops, they too were under the Sun which by then had started to blaze. Frontline soldiers from the 58th division of the Sri Lankan Army were among the first formations to begin the marching parade.
Formations in the procession were named after areas where the civil war was intensely fought. Instances: “The Wanni, northern and eastern theatres” or “eastern and western fronts.” Defence equipment such as bomb disposal and mine action units, radars, deep sea surveillance systems among others were also on display during the procession. Heavy armoured vehicles, multi-barrel rocket launchers and other war wares were also seen. The sand bag – usually unassuming yet of basic significance in traditional warfare – marked its presence too.
Suranimala and Nandimithra were the two fast-weapons boats of the Sri Lankan Navy to be exhibited on the ocean front. About 1,400 naval personnel participated in the event where this country’s coastline petrol vessels, attack crafts, passenger carriers, aero boats and wave riders were also shown. The Sri Lankan Air Force too joined in with its helicopters and fighter jets MiGs and Kfirs, thrilling most of the children in blue who by then had become the ceremony’s cheer leaders. Their joy was uncontained when sniffer dogs from the Sri Lankan Army’s vet unit daintily marched past.
About 150 wheel chair-borne defence personnel, rendered challenged by the war, were applauded by a standing audience. Another 500 challenged persons participated in the event. Following their injuries in the war, the personnel have been assigned to supportive roles in the three services, army officials later said. During his speech at the ceremony, which a commentator called “address to the nation,” President Rajapaksa reiterated his earlier position on allegations of human rights violations during the final stages of the civil war.
“It is an insult to the heroic troops who shed their blood and gave their lives for the country in this great humanitarian operation to say that they shot at those who came to them carrying white flags,” the President said in what seemed like a retort specifically to former army commander General Sarath Fonseka who has been in custody since February 8. A local newspaper had earlier attributed the white flag remarks to the retired general. In another part of his speech, the President appeared to be either conveying a message to the Indian government or pleasing his domestic constituency.
“The problems of the Tamil people, Muslims and all others who are born and live in this country cannot be a burden to those outside. It is our own responsibility to solve the problems of our people,” he said. Following his recent visit to New Delhi, media reports had suggested that the Indian government may directly engage with political representatives of Sri Lanka’s minority communities. And, in a separate mention on foreign aid, the President said in his address, “we must be ready to end the era of dependence on aid.”
After two hours, as the show ended with colourful paratroopers dropping on to the Galle Face green, the President left, briefly waving at the children in blue. His son and Hambantota MP Namal Rajapaksa followed the Presidential cavalcade in a different car, smiling from within.
Meanwhile, away from Colombo, in the north and east about 300,000 war displaced persons also continued living with unsorted issues of subsistence.
Pix by Gemunu Wellage and Lasanda Kurukulasuriya.
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