PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Republic Day has huge significance in the history and development of T&T, but how many people appreciate and understand it? Republican status was the next big step after independence, when the country really became a sovereign nation.
But that fact does not seem to be widely acknowledged or celebrated. President Anthony Carmona said as much in his Republic Day address, and felt it necessary to explain the meaning of the occasion.
He said: “Perhaps the key difference between Independence Day and Republic Day is that Independence Day commemorates the road to freedom from colonial rule—which in our case was a relatively peaceful one—while Republic Day celebrates our achievements born out of our thirst for self-governance and the desire to determine our future. Independence Day celebrates the birth of our nation but Republic Day celebrates our adulthood, our coming of age.”