In Sri Lanka, clashes between Buddhists and Muslims on June 15, which left three Muslims dead and 78 people wounded, compelled authorities to institute a curfew in the southwestern towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala.
The unrest began during a Buddhist rally in Aluthgama at which anti-Muslim slogans were chanted and, reportedly, Muslims were beaten and there was looting. The rally was in response to an incident three days earlier when Muslim youths fought with a Buddhist monk’s driver.
Acts considered insulting to Buddhism are illegal in Sri Lanka. In April 2014 a British tourist was arrested in Colombo, and later deported, for having a tattoo of Buddha on her arm. In 2012, two French tourists in Sri Lanka were given suspended prison sentences and deported for kissing a statue of Buddha.