The Sri Lankan government will incorporate regulations on the Sri Lankan flag into common law, criminalising acts that violate the new rules.
The new laws would target printers and distributers of distorted flags. “Legal action will be taken against those who print and distribute these flags,” a government source told the Daily Mirror.
Several individuals were arrested on charges of ‘maligning’ the national flag by displaying a version without the colours representing Tamils and Muslims, during a protest held in support of the former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.
Sri Lanka's national flag, is dominated by a lion, the Sinhala national symbol, holding a sword facing two small strips, which were added to represent the Tamil and Muslim communities. In 1972, the government added four leaves of the Bo tree, a holy Buddhist tree, to the flag.
Sri Lanka's chief magistrate orders arrests for 'maligning' flag (08 May 2015)
National flag should not have colours for ethnic groups - BBS (02 May 2015)
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