It appears that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was a reluctant participant at the 16th National War Heroes Commemoration event. The government announced he would attend the event after strong criticism from sections of the opposition and social media. The printed invitations to the event did not contain the president’s name. The government explained this was due to a miscommunication and the president always intended to attend the commemoration. According to the constitution the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the president usually takes on the office of Minister of Defense, with President Dissanayake also following this tradition. As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and Minister of Defense, his presence was both symbolic and necessary.