report in Daily Mirror, June 28, 2023
President Ranil Wickremesinghe asked a Tamil activist in France to pose a question in Tamil when it seemed he was struggling to raise a question in English.
The activist, during an event in France, urged the President to address humanitarian issues in Sri Lanka before focusing on other issues.
The activist also opined that he does not believe the Government in Sri Lanka was democratic.
The President responded saying he could not understand what the activist was trying to say and asked him to speak in Tamil if he does not know English.
Wickremesinghe said that he knows Tamil.
The activist then began to speak in Tamil and English but was cut short by the organizers.
https://www.dailymirror.lk/top_story/If-you-do-not-know-English-why-dont-you-speak-in-Tamil-RW-tells-Tamil-activist/155-261916
