Akon upsets Buddists

COLOMBO – US singer Akon will not be granted a visa to visit Sri Lanka for a sell-out concert after Buddhist monks and almost 12 000 people on social media site Facebook took offence at one of his videos.

A group of monks lobbied the government to stop the star’s planned visit because of a music video which featured women in bikinis dancing around a pool in front of a Buddha statue.The offending video was for the R&B star’s ‘Sexy Bitch’ hit, set on the Spanish party island of Ibiza.Director General of Information Anusha Pelpita said Colombo took Buddhist sensitivities and other protests into account. The show was reported to have sold out with tickets priced at US$217.Majority-Buddhist Sri Lanka projects itself as a secular country, but it is highly sensitive to the use of religious images for commercial purposes.Six years ago, Sri Lanka’s police and customs were ordered to seize albums from plush lounge bar and restaurant chain Buddha Bar which depicted the Buddha, as well as bikinis with Buddha motifs. – Nampa-AFP

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