Buddha bar angers Sri Lankans, Buddha tattoos banned in Lanka
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Colombo: Sri Lanka and Italy
are now engaged in a diplomatic row over a bar named 'Buddha Bar'. Sri
Lankans in Italy have already urged the Sri Lankan Embassy to take
immediate action to remove the name of the 'Buddha' which is being used
on the name board of a Bar located at Sala Baganza in Parma, Italy.
According to a leading newspaper Daily Mirror; this bar is said to have
been opened recently. Sri Lankans living in the area said they boycotted
this bar named as the 'Buddha Bar' and requested others living in the
area to do the same as a mark of protest.
Sri Lankan foreign ministry is gathering more information and likely to
ask its envoy to Italy to demand the removal of name Buddha Bar.
Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority island nation with more than 70 per cent population is of Buddhist religion.
Buddha tattoos banned
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office last week warned British
nationals visiting Sri Lanka not to have visible tattoos of the Lord
Buddha, reports Sunday Leader newspaper.
Sri Lankans living in the area said they boycotted this bar named as the 'Buddha Bar' as a mark of protest.
The warning in an updated travel advisory on Sri Lanka comes after
British national Naomi Michelle Coleman, 37, was arrested at the
Bandaranaike International Airport and ordered to be deported for having
a tattoo of the Lord Buddha on her arm. The updated travel advisory
notes that the mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is a
serious offence and tourists have been convicted for this.
"British nationals have been refused entry to Sri Lanka or faced
deportation for having visible tattoos of Buddha. Don't pose for
photographs by standing in front of a statue of Buddha," the travel
advice said.A police spokesman had said Coleman was arrested for
"hurting others' religious feelings" after the tattoo of a Buddha seated
on a lotus flower was spotted on her right arm.
After her arrest Coleman appeared before a magistrate who ordered her deportation.
