12:53pm – The 70th anniversary celebrations of the UNP comes to a close with the National Anthem being sung in Tamil further signifying the ideologies and general theme of reconciliation which was echoed throughout the entire event..
12:50pm – “To the members of the UNP I say this, let us unite with everyone, let us move away from Jurrasic ideologies ” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:48pm – “By January next year we will initiate a plan to construct 500,000 houses” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:44pm – “By 2020 we will significantly reduce the Debt burden of the country” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:43pm – “We have not forgotten all the people who worked towards ensuring the victory the President. We will ensure that we put a stop to the politically motivated persecution that we face” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:41pm – “Having 2/3rd of the Parliament will not ensure that the country moves forward, we need to ensure that we unit 2/3rd of the country, that is why we formed a consensus Government ” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:38pm – “The people can decide who are the patriots and who are the traitors at this time. We are a democratic party, therefore I need to state that we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring democracy” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:35pm – “We are dedicated to bringing together all races and creating a new Sri Lankan identity .. We are a party of patriots. We have never made any deals with the LTTE just to secure victory at an election, I’d rather loose such an election” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:34pm – “The UNP has made mistakes and I apologise for all the mistake we have made” – PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
12:27pm – UNP Leader, Prime Minister Rani Wickremesinghe takes to the stage
12.19pm – “Anagarika Dhamapala called on all buddists to rise up, like is said last week I now call on all Sri Lankans to rise up” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:17pm – “”I commend the ideology that the UNP adopted during this convention ” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:15pm – “All of us have dedicated ourselves to bringing about reconciliation, we have dedicated ourselves to creating a news constitution that can be accepted by all persons in the country. However certain forces are spreading misinformation about our efforts. ” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:12pm – “The UNP and SLFP can stand together on the stance of not allowing foreign intervention and move forward” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:08pm – “As the President I am dedicated to fulfilling the promises that we made through the election manifesto, that we put forward together, before the January 8th Presidential Election” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:05pm – “We need to understand the nature of the issse, D.S. Senanayake spoke about reconciliation 70 years ago and we are speaking about it once again today” – President Maithripala Sirisena
12:00pm : President Maithripala Sirisena, Chief guest of the UNP 70th Anniversary celebrations takes to the stage
11:35am – General Secretary of the UNP, Min. Kabir Hashim takes to the stage
11:32am – “The political marraige of President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is unbreakabale. We say this clearly to the Joint Opposition that no one will be able to break this bond ” – Min. Sajith Premadasa
11:30am – “As a party we are growing stronger, there is a massive drive to enroll new party members. We are party that achieves victory, we will never settle for second place. Under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe we will become an unbeatable political force.” – Min. Sajith Premadasa
11:23am – “As a country, we have achieved many victories both locally and Internationally during this short time span. We have cracked down on fraud and corruption. We have also launched a massive development plan.” – Min. Sajith Premadasa
11:13am : Deputy Leader of the UNP, Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa takes to the stage
11:08am – Internationally renown Sri Lankan singer Chithral Somapala performs at the 70th Anniversary celebrations of the UNP
11:05am – “ work of the Government may be slow, but that is how a patient recovers. Give us 6 more months and you will be able to see a visible change ”- Min. Harin Fernando
11:00am – “.. By 1978 we had only 12 computers in the country … Before the next 5 years we are confident that we can provide computers to all our students ..” – Min. Harin Fernando
10:55am – “.. look at the freedom we have under this government. We don’t intervene in the judiciary or the Police..”- Min. Harin Fernando
10: 50am – Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Harin Fernando takes to the stage
10: 35am : President Maithripala Sirisena in conversation with former President Chandrika Kumaratunga
10:32am : Chief Guest of the UNP 70th Anniversary Celebrations, President Maithripala Sirisena arrives at the Campbell Park
10:30am – State Minister Vijayakala Maheshwaran takes to the stage
10:20am – “.. Through the UNP we will unite everyone and cast aside extremism..” – Min. Ravi Karunanayake
10:15am – Asst. Leader of the UNP, Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake delivers opening remarks. Former President Chandrika Kumaranatunge among those gathered at the Campbell Park.
10:04am – 70th anniversary celebrations begin under the auspices of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
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Good morning and welcome to the News1st Live Blog of the UNP 70th Anniversary celebrations and convention. Proceedings are set to get underway at the Campbell Park in Borella. We will have the details as and when it happens.
