Colombo, October 8, 2024. Organized by the Sri Lanka Young Socialist Union (SYU), a remembrance and tribute ceremony was held on the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Commander Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia, (Che Day 2024).
The emotional ceremony was chaired by the Cuban ambassador to Sri Lanka, Andrés Marcelo González Garrido, Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party, People's Liberation Front, (JVP), Eranga Gunasekera, National Organizer and Anjana Amarasinghe, International Secretary, of the Sri Lanka Young Socialist Union (SYU) and was attended by graduates of Cuban universities, hundreds of members of the SYU and the JVP, as well as supporters of the figure of Che and the Cuban revolution.
All the speakers, including those from the youth organization, the general secretary of the JVP party and graduates from Cuba, highlighted the values and precepts of Che and the validity of his thought and called on the new generations of Sri Lanka to follow his example, in order to build a better and more just society.
For his part, the Cuban ambassador pointed out that Ernesto Che Guevara instilled in us ethical and moral precepts, such as love of country, internationalism, cooperation, camaraderie, discipline, honesty, simplicity and modesty. He thanked the permanent support of the solidarity movement in Sri Lanka in Cuba's fight against the United States blockade and in the battle for its exclusion from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism.
This tribute was made in the same place where Che was in August 1959 and planted a tree 65 years ago, during his visit to what was then Ceylon, just after the triumph of the Cuban revolution in January of that same year.
During the event, the leaders of the Young Socialist Union (SYU) presented the Cuban ambassador with a declaration of solidarity from their organization and the JVP party, in which they demand that the United States government immediately end the barbaric and ruthless blockade against Cuba and that it be removed from the list of states that supposedly sponsor terrorism, and in which they reaffirm their solidarity, friendship and support for Cuba and its people.
All the participants in the event laid flowers at the foot of the tree planted by Che. A large banner was placed there with a text demanding the end of the blockade against Cuba and the exclusion from the list of states that supposedly sponsor terrorism, which was signed by those attending the event.
During the event, a music band made up of members of the socialist youth played songs dedicated to Che.