Sri Lanka's Promotion of Buddha Statues Interferes With Secular Image of Nation

Sri Lankan diplomats are concerned about the Sri Lankan government's decision to send 26 Buddha statues to Sri Lankan missions overseas.  Today's Sri Lanka Sunday Leader reports that the move, organized by the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and the Presidential Secretariat last week, interferes with attempts to portray the country internationally as a secular state. The statues were sent to mark the 2,600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi. Religious ceremonies surrounded the transport of the statues to Colmbo en route to their overseas destinations.