New laws to safeguard national flag

11 May 2015 03:21 am

Regulations pertaining to the national flag will be incorporated to the common law of the country through an Act allowing legal action to be taken against those violating it, government sources said.  

The new laws would target printers and distributers of distorted flags. “Legal action will be taken against those who print and distribute these flags,” the sources said.  

The decision was taken after an alleged distorted version of the national flag was used at a protest campaign in front of the Bribery Commission last month. A cabinet paper is to be presented for approval of the new law soon.  

Convening a meeting at the Home Affairs Ministry last week, government officials directed the CAA to gazette quality standards of the national flag which had been approved by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute.

The customs and the CAA have also been directed to pay special notice to the quality and standard of the flags brought into the country.

Several individuals were arrested on charges of maligning the national flag by displaying a distorted version during a protest held in support of the former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa opposite the Bribery Commission. (Darshana Sanjeewa)