US South Carolina governor to introduce legislation that bans Confederate flag

More and more people began to call for the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag, which is regarded as a symbol of racism after the church massacre in Charleston in the state of South Carolina. Walmart said in a statement on Monday that it will no longer sell products with the Confederate flag. "We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer," said a Walmart spokesperson. The biggest retailer in the U.S. is removing all items marked with or promoting the Confederate flag for sale from its stores and website.

“A symbol (the Confederate flag) long revered by many Southerners was for some, after the church massacre in Charleston, a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally offensive past,” said Governor Nikki. R. Haley at a news conference on Monday. The governor has vowed to introduce legislation that would remove the Confederate flag from the public areas including capitol grounds, according to the American daily newspaper New York Times.

Controversy was sparked over the removal of the Confederate flag after Dylann Roof, the suspect of a shooting spree in the Charleston church, had posed for numerous photos with the Confederate battle flag before he committed the shootings.

The flag was used by the Confederate States, which supported the slavery during the Civil War between 1861 and 1865 and is still used in the southern part of the states. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other African-American civil rights organizations call for the removal of the Confederate flag in the public areas as it reminds of slavery and discrimination against African Americans.

firedy@donga.com