The flag of Eastern Province, was adopted for the Eastern Province of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

on 22 May 2007.

History

With the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling that by 2007 the 1987 order of merging the two provinces, under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord,

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and Eastern was illegal and therefore the two provinces must be administered separately. This meant two separate flags for the Northern and Eastern provinces. The Eastern Province flag was unveiled along with the

flag of Northern Province A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...

in Trincomalee, in May 2007. The governor of the Eastern Province

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Mohan Wijewickrema, also at the time the acting

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Northern Province, handed over the two flags to each of the province's respective council's chief secretary, S. Rangarajah of the North and Herath Abeyeweera of the East, at a ceremony at the Governor's Secretariat.

Symbolism

The three symbols on the Eastern Province flag symbolises the three districts of the province. The eagle symbolises Trincomalee, the fish

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

and the lion

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

Controversy

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the major political party for the

Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Moors ( ta, இலங்கைச் சோனகர், translit=Ilaṅkaic Cōṉakar; si, ලංකා යෝනක, translit=Lanka Yonaka; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minorit ...

, says that the new Eastern Province flag design does not represent the Muslim community. Hassan Ali, the Deputy Minister of Supplementary Crops Development, raised the issue at the adjournment debate in the House not accepting the new flag that did not symbolize the Muslim community.

References

External links

Eastern Provincial Council

Sri Lanka.Asia
{{Sri Lankan provincial flags Eastern Province Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Eastern Province Flags displaying animals

History

Symbolism

Controversy

See also

References

External links