King Letsie III will lead the nation in paying a solemn tribute to  Basotho soldiers who died in the two world wars, 1914-1914 and 1939-1945 by observing a two minutes silence from 11:00 in the morning, at a ceremony to be held at the Cenotaph at Mokoanyane Square, on the Sunday of November 10, 2002. This is done at that hour because the first world war ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, says a press release from the ministry of Home affairs.

The release indicates that the two minutes silence will be started with a single round of gun fire and ended with another single round at 11:02 to break the silence. After that, the last post will be sounded as a farewell bugle-call at military funerals. At the same ceremony there will be the laying of wreaths in order of precedence of dignitaries who have to do it starting with the King and followed by the Prime Minister, Mr. Pakalitha Mosisili and others. A brief ecumenical prayer and the blessing of the wreaths will then be made followed by a sound of a reveille as a bugle call at daybreak to awaken the
soldiers. The ceremony will be concluded by the singing of the national anthem.

The public is expected to assemble at the square on the day, along with the war veterans who can make it to the ceremony. Presently there are about 1000 surviving Basotho veterans of both world wars. The Armistice Sunday is commemorated on every second Sunday of November, every year.

05 November,2002