more-inKandiah Sarveswaran, Education Minister of Northern Provincial Council in Sri Lanka, who triggered a controversy last week over his refusal to unfurl the national flag of the island-nation, has justified his act. “So immediately, I instructed my officer of the Education department to unfurl the national flag. However, taking note of Mr. Sarveswaran’s presence on Thursday, Ramiah Yogarajan, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Egypt and former Member of Parliament representing the ruling United National Party (UNP), pointed to the badge on the national flag that he wore and said, “I am proud” of displaying the national flag. He recalled how his community - persons of recent Indian origin, also known as hill-country Tamils - had struggled to acquire Sri Lankan citizenship. “As the national flag is a symbol of nationality, we cherish and honour [displaying it].”At the present juncture, “we are trying to create reconciliation by having a new Constitution to accommodate aspirations of Tamil people of the North and East.

Source: The Hindu December 01, 2017 16:18 UTC