04th February 1948 marks Sri Lanka’s remarkable achievement of independence after 153 years of Western colonization.

Since the attainment of freedom from European colonization, Sri Lanka had to experience a civil war for 30 years which ended in 2009 at the expense of thousands of civilian lives.
Under the guidance of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the then Government, Sri Lankan armed forces fought
valiantly to protect the country from LTTE militants.

It has been 11 years for this momentous victory…and it has been 73 years for gaining independence from Western Colonization…today Sri Lanka proudly commemorates this.

The 73rd Independence Day celebration is set to commence today (04) morning with the presence of the Sri Lankan President and the Prime Minister at the Independence Squarepremises, Colombo.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 73rd Independence Day is celebrated following the Covid-19 guidelines and the number of guests and dignitaries attending the
celebration are limited as well.

Defence Secretary Major General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd.) assures, the number of squadrons participating in the parade are low compared to the previous years and all the
participants will be subjected to PCR tests or rapid antigen tests beforehand.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s address to the nation will be followed by the Armed Forces' parade in which the squadrons consist of 3153 army personnel, 821 of Navy
personnel, 742 Air Force personnel, 510 Police personnel, and 457 Civil Security Force personnel. The Independence Day celebration is set to end with several cultural events withthe participation of around 340 dancers and musicians.