The Government will hold the Victory Parade at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on May 18 every year to mark Sri Lanka’s victory over terrorism. The Victory Parade will be held on May 20 only this year, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

The Defence Secretary made this observation after the ceremonial
opening of the monument erected at Elephant Pass in memory of war
heroes.

Emphatically stating that the Victory Parade was to mark the victory
of all the communities in the country, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa
said all communities will participate in this national event.

Reminding of the gains of the humanitarian operation conducted by the
armed forces, the Defence Secretary said one of the main objectives of
the operation was to free the Tamil people from the vicious grip of
the LTTE.

The Tamil people were held hostage by the LTTE and its ruthless leader
Prabakaran depriving them of their culture, education, freedom and
democracy. The positive effects of the victory of the operation was
mostly felt by the Tamil community of this country, he said.

He said a War Heroes' Week will be held prior to the Victory Parade
and at the end of the War Heroes' Week the Victory Parade will be held
with the participation of parents, wives and children and relatives of
the war heroes.