Look at how these disgusting people have taken the photograps:

http://lankacnews.com/sinhala/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ambakke-farcne-n.jpg

This is basically Western Civilization. Making fun other others is their pastime.

In Thailand you have to be VERY careful not to mock, insult or in anyway disparage the king or the royal family. Even the guidebooks mention this quite specifically. The guidebooks also explain expected behaviour at religious places.

I agree, a stern warning would have been good enough for the French tourists to realise what they were up to is not acceptable in this part of the world. Dragging them to police and courts and is a bit over the top.

Only if our police and courts were equally quick to give sentences to the monks who destroyed part of the mosque in Dambulla or the monk that stole the Ganesh statue from the Kovil in Panama.

We should treat places of religious significance as if they were court-houses. If it’s something important, like expressing a political opinion, it should be allowed. So Pussy Riot should be allowed to sing against Putin in cathedrals. On the other hand, people should not be allowed to be obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious, so the French tourists were out of line, so they deserve, well, a fine. I don’t recommend putting people into jail for this sort of thing. But I suppose, if those tourists were locals, that’s exactly what would’ve happened, and they’d be beaten a little for good measure.

This case couldn’t be better timed. Rather than the GoSL making stupid complaints about the British travel advisory, they should quote from it:

“You are subject to local laws in Sri Lanka and violating them may result in a jail sentence.

There are severe penalties for all drug offences and crimes related to the abuse of children. In some circumstances detainees can be held without charge, indefinitely and convicted offenders may face lengthy jail sentences.

Same-sex relations are illegal.

Nude or topless sunbathing is generally not allowed.

Although Sri Lankan attitudes to informal European styles of dress are generally relaxed, women travelling alone, especially after dark, may be made to feel uncomfortable if not dressed modestly. You should consider religious and other sensibilities. Do not enter a Buddhist temple wearing headgear or with bare legs or shoulders and always remove footwear. You should avoid posing for photographs standing in front of a statue of Buddha.”

In fact, the British advisory is actually reasonable and accurate.

As for this case? I say that if breakage disrespectful at a members’ club, you get a warning, thrown out and maybe fined. Churches/temples/mosques are members’ clubs, so fair enough. Any more than that is state-sponsored over-protection, which it’s the people’s right to demand if they want to be bastards. Just don’t expect the foreign money if foreigners aren’t given a fair warning.

Silly peck on the the Buddha statue cheek should not amount to such brutal punishment for the French Tourists.

These foreigners do not hate Buddhism !! They are our guests and they made silly mistake .

Making a mountain out of a small thing, wasting time of courts when courts have very serious jobs to do, inciting words of hatred over a kiss, thinking Buddha Idols can be insulted by ignorant actions, nothing of this sounds anything close to Buddhism taught by Lord Buddha.

Buddha DOES NOT mind any girl kissing one of the idols made for him and if he did he wouldn’t be Buddha!!

If I had gone to church and spunked on a statue of mother mary, would that be ok then? Where do you draw the line. Saliva is ok but spunk is not ? Disrespect of another culture or religion is just that. The intent is either there or not. These people obviously do not respect Sri Lanka or its culture. A stern talking to would serve no purpose. Who cares about a lecture from a bunch of “primitive” idol worshippers. Justice was done here. End of. Learn to respect others or get your ass kicked.

OMG !! Rajapaksa Government playing skilfully a “Victim ” Card !!! Government spokesman said that the French Tourists would… ” would have taken the pictures abroad, published them and gloated at them.. ?????” He is painting this innocent blunder into the War against Buddhism !!!!!!

BTW why would French Tourists publish their family holiday pics ???

Rajapaksa Regime is making the mountain out the molehill !!!

I think, it is a good way to scare off the tourists and irresponsible way to run the tourist industry.
http://news.yahoo.com/sri-lanka-condemns-buddha-kissing-french-tourists-131907883.html?_esi=1

Rajapaksa government is becoming more radical then the Taliban

What ???
Me…learning proper this and that , when you don’t have a proper heart in your body… just a piece of cold ice. Yes you are a “Proper Patriot” and superb Ruthless Rajapaksa bootlicker !!

Where in the Buddha’s teachings you find that the mass murder of the innocent is allowed ?

You are pathetic as human being and not a good Buddhist !!

You and your Mass Murderer Buddy-Rajapaksa will be punished by well deserved Karma

Again you’re spitting on Lord Buddha’s teachings with your abusive speech. Don’t you feel embarassed? Please stop spitting on Lord Buddha’s teachings.

I think this is total stupidity, nothing else. Why, the police couldn’t give them some warning and advice before taking it to the court. How much money we’ve lost in this process? When people breaks heads and other parts of Buddha statues in seeking “Nidhan” no one cares; even, so called patriotic Buddhists.

Corporal punishment is the solution to this. A good round of caning (like in Singapore) or public flogging (like the middle east) and wide publicity worldwide would stop this once and for all. We are very soft people. End result is, everybody taking advantage of this weakness. Try doing this to the statue of mother mary in Lourdes and see what will happen. The mob will set on you. Yeah, those buggers are not as civilized as they say. Not that we are any better. But still…………

To me it has nothing to do with religion. It’s only good manners and basic decency to treat with respect what others may consider sacred. Especially if you are a visitor and the others in this case are your hosts. I doubt that the French tourists would have faced much harassment. They would have immediately contacted their embassy, which would have acted fast to help their countrymen.

We dont have to bend over backwards to pander to rude tourists. What we should do to promote tourism is give tourists value for their money, ie. provide a proper service when they pay for it (which I dont see happening).

The courts would have done what they had to do. I’m not aware what our government’s reaction exactly was, but I could guess that it went characteristically over the top.

http://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/french-kissing-the-buddha/

I did actually like that photograph, there is real artistry there. I had heard of the picture but actually looked it up only now because of the argument.

The full story on the land is that these were all distributed amongst cronies who tried very hard to flog them at massive premiums. The problem was that at the prices asked no project was viable. These were being touted privately for at least a couple of years if not more.

Now they are following a slightly more open approach, to see what interest is aroused, however the growing questions over governance will make it a lot harder to sell. The latest change at the SEC is symbolic of this.

I believe that the issue at hand is primarily one of double standards. On the one hand, the affluent European visitor elevates his status the moment he “disembarks” at Bandaranaike International Airport, where he connects the anecdotal accounts of Sri Lankan hospitality with the subservient deferrence he experiences from his hosts.

Therefore, when he sets forth on his excursions, he has reinforced his status as an exalted “other” (by most accounts due to his white skin) and because he finds himself in a “third” world country with poor people. Condescension and polite niceties aside, he does acquire a superior status that predisposes him to act irresponsibly (if he wishes), given the above, and the seeming “soft”ness of the “locals”.

A dark-skinned visitor from Asia in places of worship or otherwise in Europe, North America or Australia will automatically feel the opposite and be very responsible in his behaviour as he will be humbled, awed and feel inferior from the time he sets foot at the white man’s door.