The 65th birth anniversary of the late politician Ossie Abeyagoonasekera will be marked today by a commemorative event held near his statue at Peliyagoda at 4.00pm.

 

The keynote address of the event will be conducted by Prof. Daya Amarasekara of the Socialogy Department, University of Colombo. The event is organized by Ossie Abeyagoonasekera's son Asanga Abeyagoonasekera.

 

Born on August 7, 1950, Ossie Abeygoonasekera entered politics at a young age. A school friend of Vijaya Kumaratunga, he was a key supporter of the political activities of the actor-turned politician. Along with Vijaya Kumaratunga, Ossie Abeyagoonasekera took part in the 1982 Presidential Eection campaign to support Hector Kobbekaduwa. Ossie was among those who were imprisoned on trumped-up 'Naxalite' charges. Later, he was a founding member of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party. Later, he took part in Vijaya Kumaratunga's famous trip to Jaffna to meet and hold discussions with the LTTE.

 

Abeyagoonasekera contested the 1988 Presidential Election and received 4.63 percent of the vote.

 

He later joined the UNP and was on the stage at an election rally in Colombo on October 24, 1994, when a suicide bombing ripped through the rally. UNP Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake and a number of others died. Abeyagoonasekera succumbed to his injuries two weeks later.