COLOMBO (NewsRadio); Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena says Sri Lankans should learn from the past and start the New Year with new concepts to ensure that future generation will not encounter similar hardships.
Issuing a message to mark the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Prime Minister Gunawardena said last few years had been difficult for Sri Lankans and it is time to put what the country learnt in the past to practice.
Full statement:
Sinhala and Hindu New Year is the most significant cultural festival of Sri Lankans. We have inherited several ancient rituals that we consistently follow together at the same auspicious times and this is a unique feature that has not been practiced in any other country in the world.
We, as Sri Lankans always wish a prosperous and bountiful new year. In view of the food and economic crisis faced by the country this year, the effort taken by our farmers in making the country rich in rice produce, thus fulfilling that aspiration should be gratefully remembered in this New Year.
Our forefathers who co-existed with nature added a new meaning to the New Year. As their children and grandchildren, there is no need for us to learn anew about food security, thrift, togetherness and harmony. What we need is to put them into practice.
The past few years have given us a lot to think about. The epidemics, economic and social crises are some of the most serious challenges we have come across in our recent history. Let’s start the New Year, enriched with new concepts to ensure that neither we, nor the future generation encounter similar hardships.
