lifting an unofficial ban, Sri lanka’s national anthem was on Thursday sung in Tamil at a ceremony here to mark the the country’s independence day, in an effort to achieve reconciliation with the ethnic minority community.
School children rendered the Sinhala and Tamil versions of the national anthem at a colourful celebration at the Galle Face Green park to mark the 68th anniversary of Sri lanka’s independence from Britain.
The move, despite opposition from some quarters, is being seen as an effort by the government to reach out to the Tamil minority after the nearly 26-year war with the lTTE that ended in 2009.