Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena insisted that the position of Buddhism on the island would not be changed in any new constitution that is to be implemented.
The Hindu reported Mr Sirisena as telling a Buddhist gathering in Trincomalee on Friday that “Buddhism’s position, coming since 1972, will not be changed”.
Negotiations around a proposed new constitution have been kept secret by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil National Alliance, with TNA parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran telling a gathering in Jaffna this month that there were "reasons for the silence we keep".
Mr Sirisena meanwhile said that talks were ongoing and “we have not finalised anything yet”.