A large group of Jaffna civilians held a rally followed by a meeting in the city yesterday to celebrate the National Independence Day (February 4).
They paraded along the streets surrounding the Jaffna Fort and the town expressing solidarity with sentiments of reconciliation, co-existence, harmony and national unity in parallel with the main ceremony, held at Colombo Independence Square.
Organized by Jaffna-based Civil Society Centre for Jaffna, led by Arul Siddharthan of Jaffna, a social service activist and peace activist in the peninsula, the crowd held a Independence Day meeting near the Jaffna library after the parade.
Although there was speculation earlier that some extremist groups will stage protests in North and East on the Independence Day, there were no such incidents. Several persons held a protest in front of a Kovil in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya town raising issue of those who went missing during the war.
Independence Day ceremonies were held in all cities in the North and East as well.
