President calls on to safeguard harmony through strength of unity and cooperation

President Maithripala Sirisena in his New Year message to the people of Sri Lanka called on to “safeguard the harmony through the strength of unity and cooperation” in the New Year.

While reminding the people that he upheld the “trust and confidence you placed on me and fulfilled the promise of making 2015 A Victorious Year,” the President said the country can reap the harvest of its victory only by forging unity and cooperation through trust to march forward.

“Therefore, our common determination in the New Year should be to safeguard the harmony through the strength of unity and cooperation,” he said.

Following is the full message:

We celebrate the dawn of this New Year with many hopes and aspirations in our hearts. With the important turning point of our nation witnessed in January last year, today we are in the threshold of a decisive era of speedy and sustainable development of our country that would be of importance not only to us but also to the future generations.

As I emphasised in my New Year best wishes to you last year, we have seen the restoration of democratic freedoms, ending of corruption and violence, establishment of reconciliation, regaining of international goodwill. We have achieved them as a result of the determination and conviction displayed by you in last January last year.

I upheld the trust and confidence you placed on me and fulfilled the promise of making 2015 A Victorious Year.

The coming year 2016 too will also be a year without rest for you and us. We have to continue relentlessly on the path to build a prosperous future for our twenty million people.

With readiness to shun power rather than grab power, with good intentions and non-hateful thoughts we have empowered the people and changed the traditional rivalries in Sri Lankan politics. All these are to be continued in next year’s agenda too.

We can reap the harvest of our victory only by forging unity and cooperation through trust to march forward. Hence, our common determination in the New Year should be to safeguard the harmony through the strength of unity and cooperation. I wish all of you a Prosperous and Happy New Year, free of sorrows and illness.

Sukhi deegayu kobhava. Theruwan saranai.

May you be healthy.

May the Noble Triple Gem bless you.

Sri Lanka has triumphed over adversity that threatened society - Prime Minister

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka, as a nation, has triumphed over adversity and challenges that threatened the very fabric of our society.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in a New Year message said the nation enters the 2016 on a note of hope and abundance, as a country fortifying its economic, social and political strength.

The full text of Prime Minister’s message:

This New Year dawns with the refreshing promise of a new era - one that ushers in the dividends of democracy, fulfilling the long held aspirations of the people. It celebrates the emerging of a nation that understands and comprehends the true meaning of freedom from oppression. As a nation, we have triumphed over adversity and challenges that threatened the very fabric of our society.

Today, gifted with a new political culture that affords us all the opportunity to rise above differences, we have before us a new and exciting journey - one that brings together opportunities for growth, sustainable development and progress while affirming the rights and privileges of the citizens, incorporating their hopes and aspirations.

We enter 2016 on a note of hope and abundance, as a country fortifying its economic, social and political strength. May 2016 be a year of triumph and victory for all Sri Lankans.