Agence France Presse

Phnom Penh, March 6:

A Cambodian minister today denied reports that officials planned to remove thousands of Thai-style Buddha statues from pagodas in a northwestern province bordering Thailand.

Cambodian press reports last week cited religious officials in Banteay Meanchey province as saying the statues would be placed in storage because they distorted Khmer Buddhism and were an unwelcome outside influence.

But religious affairs minister Chea Savoeun told AFP the Buddha images were being kept on display as usual, although their owner had been asked to present their import papers to authorities.

People can only bring Buddhas into the kingdom if they obtain a licence, he said. "We have never had a plan to collect Thai-style Buddhas from across the country at all," he said.