Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs written question – answered at on 20 December 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent reports that the Sri Lankan government has considered banning the Tamil version of that country's national anthem.
The Sri Lankan Government has announced that it would adhere to the constitutional status of the national anthem. According to the Sri Lankan constitution; the national anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be "Sri Lanka Matha". This is the Sinhalese version. It is unclear how this affects the Tamil version.
We regularly talk to the Sri Lankan Government on minority issues and the necessity to protect the rights of the minorities. We continue to urge them to take forward national reconciliation through a fully inclusive political process that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict.
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