by Rajasingham Jayadevan
(November 22, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) A national flag is an ensign that symbolises a country. I repeat, ‘a country’. There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of a national flag. A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour. When a national flag, with some exceptions, is flown upside down it indicates distress.
Even though the north of Sri Lanka is ungovernable by the government due to prolonged rebellion, it is still a part of Sri Lanka. The politics of Tamils have not reached the stage of claiming Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) with the backing of one or more countries. Therefore, the violent struggle of the LTTE cannot permit the national flag to be abused in this manner, when the government effort is aimed at quelling an internal strife.
There is nothing wrong in Sri Lanka celebrating "Jayagrahee Ranaviru Upahara Sathiya", but if the message of hoisting the flag is that the Tamils do not have a traditional homeland and they have to live under the majority dictates without any empowerment to live as responsible citizens, then the whole celebrations will be viewed with consternation and resentment by the Tamils.
The above photograph is from Poonaryn following army advances. This land is not in the neighbouring Maldives or India to hoist the Sri Lankan flag following an invasion. It only reflects the hate and anger the government is attributing and such actions would not help Sri Lanka as a nation to find peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Can a nation’s army behave like this by standing on a monument even though it is built by the LTTE? The monument is built for the dead LTTE cadres. Though it may be a symbol of the most detested LTTE, it is not right for the forces to stand on it. It is a monument for the misguided youngsters who had engaged in the violent struggle against the government. It is the struggle which is rooted in the suppressive policies of the successive governments to maginalise the Tamils. Let the Tamils decide what they want to do with the monuments when they are empowered to lead a civil life in Sri Lanka without any fear.
For this little boy (left) in the shanty town in Pooneryn, the national flag and presence of newly arrived soldiers must be a mind boggling experience.
This is another cheap gimmick of the government. The government claims the Tamil people in Jaffna came out in large numbers to celebrate the capture of Pooneryn by the army. The photographs amply reflect the contingent in the celebrations is government backed EPDP paramilitary boys called to do a publicity stunt. Can the Tamil civilian population living amidst the state army and the LTTE’s intelligence men in Jaffna venture out and express their free opinion? Will they publicly identify themselves as pro-government?
The government must stop orchestrating such petty publicity stunts and avoid demeaning the national flag to gain unimportant mileage. - Sri Lanka Guardian
(November 22, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) A national flag is an ensign that symbolises a country. I repeat, ‘a country’. There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of a national flag. A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour. When a national flag, with some exceptions, is flown upside down it indicates distress.
Even though the north of Sri Lanka is ungovernable by the government due to prolonged rebellion, it is still a part of Sri Lanka. The politics of Tamils have not reached the stage of claiming Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) with the backing of one or more countries. Therefore, the violent struggle of the LTTE cannot permit the national flag to be abused in this manner, when the government effort is aimed at quelling an internal strife.
There is nothing wrong in Sri Lanka celebrating "Jayagrahee Ranaviru Upahara Sathiya", but if the message of hoisting the flag is that the Tamils do not have a traditional homeland and they have to live under the majority dictates without any empowerment to live as responsible citizens, then the whole celebrations will be viewed with consternation and resentment by the Tamils.
The above photograph is from Poonaryn following army advances. This land is not in the neighbouring Maldives or India to hoist the Sri Lankan flag following an invasion. It only reflects the hate and anger the government is attributing and such actions would not help Sri Lanka as a nation to find peaceful resolution to the conflict.Can a nation’s army behave like this by standing on a monument even though it is built by the LTTE? The monument is built for the dead LTTE cadres. Though it may be a symbol of the most detested LTTE, it is not right for the forces to stand on it. It is a monument for the misguided youngsters who had engaged in the violent struggle against the government. It is the struggle which is rooted in the suppressive policies of the successive governments to maginalise the Tamils. Let the Tamils decide what they want to do with the monuments when they are empowered to lead a civil life in Sri Lanka without any fear.For this little boy (left) in the shanty town in Pooneryn, the national flag and presence of newly arrived soldiers must be a mind boggling experience.This is another cheap gimmick of the government. The government claims the Tamil people in Jaffna came out in large numbers to celebrate the capture of Pooneryn by the army. The photographs amply reflect the contingent in the celebrations is government backed EPDP paramilitary boys called to do a publicity stunt. Can the Tamil civilian population living amidst the state army and the LTTE’s intelligence men in Jaffna venture out and express their free opinion? Will they publicly identify themselves as pro-government?The government must stop orchestrating such petty publicity stunts and avoid demeaning the national flag to gain unimportant mileage. - Sri Lanka Guardian
 A national flag is an ensign that symbolises a country. I repeat, ‘a cou...){kind=link}
Post a Comment