SINGAPORE, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Singapore held a ceremony at the Kranji War Cemetery on Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the second World War (WWII).

    Speaking at the gathering, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang said that the ceremony is important in reminding Singaporeans of the tragedy of war.

    "The pages of history are littered with bitter experiences to remind us that peace and stability are hard earned outcomes," Lee said, adding that people must face history squarely so as to move on to build a new chapter.

    He said that Singapore has committed resources to the preservation of the WWII heritage sites in various places in the city state to ensure that future generations can understand that painful and the darkest period of history.

    "We have marked these sites so as to remember those who came from many lands to defend Singapore -- from Australia, Britain, Hong Kong, India, then Malaya, Nepal, New Zealand -- and also our local militia and unnamed volunteers," Lee added.

    More than 1,000 people, including members of the diplomatic corps, students, the public, as well as the British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Adam Ingram, attended the event.

    Singapore fell into the Japanese occupation on Feb. 15, 1942,which ended on September 12, 1945, when Japan signed the surrender document at the Municipal Building in the island state.

    A series of events such as heritage tours, WWII commemorative exhibitions and public conferences have been held here since mid-February to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the war. Enditem