Hundreds of demonstrators from different faiths have staged a protest demanding an alcohol ban in and around the ''cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.'' Over 200 Buddhist monks and Hindu priests, as well as a Catholic bishop, took to the streets of Anuradhapura yesterday to express their anger at liquor stores near the Srimath Anagarika Buddhist Center. “As religious leaders, we are against liquor stores in this sacred city,” said Kithulhitiyawe Dhammaratana Thero, the chief monk of the center. He was speaking outside the latest store to open, and where the protesters had gathered to voice their outrage. “This latest store is surrounded by a temple, a home for children, a school, a church and a teaching hospital,” Dhammaratana Thero said. That is not a good message to send, the monk added. “We have always opposed these stores in our sacred city but the government does not listen to us,” Dhammaratana Thero continued. He said he and other senior Buddhist monks had written a letter to the president and prime minister, who is also religious affairs minister, demanding the closure of 13 liquor stores in the sacred Buddhist city. “It is not proper to open establishments selling alcohol on sacred land. It gives a bad impression,” said Bishop Norbert M Andradi of Anuradhapura, expressing his support for the monks. “Anuradhapura is a city where many historic Buddhist temples as well as other religious places are situated,” he said. “We are the minority here. But we need to show our solidarity to put an end to these stores,” said Bishop Andradi. Anuradhapura, 200 kilometers north of Colombo, is a former capital of Sri Lanka and is famed for its ancient Buddhist ruins. UNESCO designated the sacred city a World Heritage Site in 1982. SR13632.1645