In the most recent move to protect Sri Lanka’s cultural values and reputation, the Sri Lankan Government requested online shopping platform Amazon to take down bikinis, briefs, and doormats featuring the country’s flag off its site.
It is reported that Sri Lanka had lodged a formal protest with the online retailer and asked Chinese authorities to ensure an end to the manufacture and sale of similar products.
The company which marketed the product on Amazon was requested by letter from the Embassy to immediately cease selling doormats and any such products, misusing the Sri Lanka flag. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington is reported to have said that it had also taken up the issue and complained to the US Government over what it called a “violation of intellectual property rights” of the South Asian nation. Yet, even after such lengths were taken, the sale of these products still prevailed.
We at Brunch spoke to some relevant personalities on their thoughts on the matter.
It’s childish to fuss about a non-issue: Aritha Wickremasinghe 
From a legal standpoint, Attorney-at-Law Aritha Wickremasinghe explained that Sri Lanka can’t ban products from being sold when they are manufactured in another country, as we don’t have that much power. He elaborated that all we could do was to contact the American Government and request them to stop selling a product that is perfectly legal.
“We can’t blame Amazon for this; it’s just a marketplace that manufacturers and brands use to sell their products on,” he said.
He added that these products with the flag on it are being manufactured in China and the same company also manufactures products with the Chinese flag on it, along with flags of about 80 other countries.
“I think it’s quite childish of us to make a fuss about it. It’s drawing attention to something that is really a non-issue,” he said, adding that it is high time that we as a country come together in unity and not be affected by something as small as a doormat.
It’s hypocritical of Sri Lanka to do so: Shanuki de Alwis
Advocate and talk show host Shanuki de Alwis stated that she thinks on a national front, we are entitled to take a stand on what we interpret as disrespect. But she further expressed that taking into consideration that most other countries in the world also have products with their national flag on it, this issue seems to be blown out of proportion.
“In our own country we go for cricket matches with the national flag draped around us and painted on our faces and bodies. We use the flag in various ways, so I think it’s quite hypocritical of us to tell other people how to use our flag when we are not very respectful in our own country,” she pointed out.
She also added that we have a lot more problems in Sri Lanka that need to be addressed in order to earn the respect we are demanding. “We first need to focus on getting our act together before we look into these matters.”
De Alwis further expressed that there have been no issues in other countries about their flag being used in various ways, adding: “I think we as a society tend to get a little over-dramatic about things like this.”
This could serve as a distraction from our real problems: Senel Wanniarachchi 
Hashtag Generation Co-Founder and Director Senel Wanniarachchi stated that he can understand why something like this could anger those who feel quite strongly about symbols such as national flags. However, he also commented that with this being said, he can also observe how an issue of this nature could serve as an easy distraction from the very real problems affecting our country, like systemic racism, deforestation, and corruption.
“I think we should all be very mindful of any attempt to divert our attention from those issues,” he shared, adding that he also hopes the Government will be as prompt in responding to similar attempts to distort our national flag, such as by removing those elements that represent the minority communities.
