Ravana Balaya Convener Ittakande Saddatissa Thera told Asian Mirror that two vertical stripes of equal size in green and saffron should not be removed from the national flag.

The presence of the flag without the two vertical lines during two recent protests created some controversy. On Tuesday (21), the flags were seen in the protest outside the parliament in support of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The flags were seen once more on Thursday morning at the protest outside the Bribery Commission in support of former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Refuting speculations on whether Ravana Balaya organization was involved in bringing the flags, Saddhatissa Thera stated that it happened without his knowledge.

My personal opinion is that the two strips should not be removed from the national flag. It represents respect and ‘brotherhood’ towards the minority communities, he added.

The people who brought these flags must have different views, Saddatissa Thera said.

“I have no involvement with their act of carrying that flag to the protest. We should live in this country with harmony. National flag is not the bigger issue at the moment” he asserted.