Moves to amend Lion in National flag of Sri Lanka – General Gunaratne

Steps are being taken to amend the Lion Emblem in the National flag of Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said.

Responding to a question posed at a virtual media conference, General Gunaratne said that concerns had been raised over some shortcomings in the image of the Lion in the Sri Lankan flag.

“Proposals were made by some in society that there are some shortcomings in the Lion image,” he said. The Defence Secretary noted that the process of making changes to the National Flag was a long process, which also requires Cabinet approval. Therefore, he said that the same flag will be used at this year’s 73rd Independence Day celebrations as well.

He also said that due to the prevailing COVID pandemic, the number of invitees for the Independence Day parade had been reduced and seats have been allocated for those invited for the parade in keeping with health guidelines. The Defence Secretary also requested public not to gather in numbers to view the Independence parade and risk their lives, urging all TV channels to telecast the Independence parade live for the benefit of the public.