Sri Lanka’s new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed all state institutions to display the national emblem in place of the traditional portrait of the incumbent President.
Among his first orders after being sworn in as President yesterday, Mr Rajapaksa stated that he instructed for the removal of politicians’ photographs from name boards of roads as well.
Accordingly, some state institutions have already replaced the President’s photograph with the national emblem. Mr Rajapaksa will formally join his office at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo this morning.
After swearing-in at Anuradhapura, Mr Rajapaksa assured a neutral foreign policy and refused to get involved in the battles between other countries. He asked all nations to respect unitary status and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. He said that he will exercise his executive powers in the best interest of the nation. Mr Rajapaksa said that he will establish a new Government to take his policies forward.
The new President said that his Government will not leave room for any corrupt practices to be committed.
While not commenting on the reconciliation process of the former Government, he sought the support of the minorities to rebuild the country.
