A tense situation arose when Police Officers intervened to stop an attempt by a Buddhist monk to hoist a flag, which he called the ‘Sinhalaye flag’ at the Sri Dalada Maligawa yesterday morning.
SSP Sudath Masinghe, in charge of the Kandy Police Division, informed the Ven. Thera that permission cannot be given to display any flag other than the recognised National Flag at the Dalada Maligawa.
The monk, who was involved in an argument with the SSP at the time, said he was preparing to display the real Sinhalaye flag used since the days of the previous kings.
The Police Officer rejecting the Thera’s request said that according to the Constitution of the country, only the statutory national flag can be displayed at a public place. The SSP said that a court order has been issued prohibiting the display of the flag at the Dalada Maligawa.
After seeing the court order, the monk displayed the flag to the public and the media and handed it over to the Police Officer.
He later went into the Dalada Maligawa and engaged in religious observances.