The Independence Day celebration took place in the city of Kegalle with the participation of cabinet ministers, senior government officials, foreign diplomats and many other distinguished guests.

Addressing the ceremony, the President said the government will not allow anyone to hamper the ongoing process of reconciliation. "In the aftermath of a thee decade long war, today, the people of our country enjoy total freedom and we will not allow anyone to disrupt this peaceful environment," the President asserted.

He also added that some powerful countries should understand the difficulties of fighting terrorism. "The problems we faced were more complicated than the problems faced by other countries. We faced great challenges. But we managed to overcome such challenges because our approach was different. We always gave our first priority to the protection of civilians,"

"No other country," the President said, "has achieved this much of 'reconciliation' within a period of four and a half years. No peace loving country will support a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council session."