Director General of Government Information Sudarshana Gunawardena today made a swift intervention to ensure that non-Sinhala speakers are not subjected to harassment at the Department of Registration of Persons. 

Gunawardena responded to a tweet posted by a journalist on officials at the counters at submission counters for ID card applications calling out numbers only in Sinhala. The tweet also had the picture of a female Civil Defence Service (CDS) officer who "barked at" non-Sinhala speakers who sought clarifications about their numbers. 

According to the journalist who posted the tweet, the CDS officer barking at non-Sinhala speakers was deployed at the 'D section' of the 9th floor of the building on the morning of September 05.

The tweet was widely shared, and many non-Sinhala speakers shared similar stories based on their own experiences at the Department of Registration of Persons. 

The Director General of Government Information immediately responded to these remarks and said he would take up the matter with the Director General of Registration of Persons. 

In less than 24 hours Gunwardena tweeted back following up on his promise. He said he brought the matter to the attention of the Director General of Registration of Persons and the latter promised to rectify the situation. 

Gunawardena, in his tweet,  also expressed confidence that the situation would soon improve for non-Sinhala speakers at the Department of Registration of Persons.