斯17世纪寺院佛牙寺佛牙节庆典准备就绪安全无需担忧

据海外媒体报道，斯里兰卡著名的17世纪神圣寺院佛牙寺已经为即将到来的佛牙节庆典做好了准备工作。因为泰米尔猛虎恐怖组织的消亡，数年来，斯里兰卡人民第一次可以在这个吸引成千上万人来参观的庆典前松一口气。

佛牙寺监管Pradeep Nilanga Dela表示，“泰米尔猛虎组织已被打败，国家的安全有了极大的改善，我们预计今年参观庆典的人数会增加一倍左右。在过去的几年，来自全世界参观庆典的人大概有250000名，而今年我们希望可以达到500000名。”

佛牙节是亚洲最隆重的庆典，今年的庆典将从7月22日到8月6日在距斯里兰卡首都科伦坡130公里的康提举行。

Dela表示，因为今年5月份泰米尔恐怖组织被消灭，所以安全状况将得到极大的改善。“我们已经检查了寺院的安全情况，保安人员与往年相比有所见减少。在接下来的几个月我们会继续监视情况，并视情况进一步减少安全措施。

一位来自科伦坡的参观者表示，猛虎组织被消灭后，他感觉安全多了。“我和我太太一起过来的，现在我们感觉要安全多了。”

65岁的出租车司机W.A. Nihal Perera表示现在是参观康提的好时候，“是的，它非常安全，你还可以去Jaffna。”他露齿大笑：“没问题的，‘猛虎’都不在了，还有什么好怕的呢。”（编译：子规）

Kandy's Buddhist temple readies for pageantry - without fear

The famous 17th century Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is breathing easy for the first time in many years ahead of a pageant that draws hundreds of thousands of people to this sacred Buddhist town. For, the Tamil Tigers lie vanquished.

"We are expecting nearly double the number of visitors to the annual pageant as the security has improved vastly following the defeat of the Tamil Tigers," said Pradeep Nilanga Dela, chief custodian of the shrine known as Sri Dalada Maligawa.

"Till last year we used to have about 250,000 visitors from all over the world for the pageant, but this year we hope to receive nearly 500,000 visitors."

The event, known as the Esala Pehera, is one of Asia's most colourful. This year it will begin July 22 and end Aug 6 in Kandy, about 130 km from the capital Colombo.

But Dela said the security situation has improved vastly after the crushing defeat of the LTTE in May this year.

"We have reviewed the security of the temple and the security detail has been brought down. In the coming months, we will be monitoring the situation and security measures can be brought down further depending on the situation.

"However, certain minimum standards of security have to be always maintained since the extremely important Buddha's tooth relic is housed here. We have safety measures in place for that," Dela told a group of journalists from India.

D.G.J.C. Gunasekara, a visitor who had come from Colombo, said he feels a lot safer now that the LTTE has been decimated. "I have come here with my wife. We feel that it is much better now."

W.A. Nihal Perera, 65, a taxi driver, said it was time for people to visit Kandy in large numbers. "Yes, it is very much safe. You can also go to Jaffna."

Pressed further, he says with a toothy smile: "No problem. LTTE is gone. What fear?"