THE Ministry of Information has issued a letter to Cambodian broadcasters warning them against making statements that could be seen as disparaging to any religion, a move prompted by a comment aired last week that, according to the letter, insulted Buddhism by stating that Christians were more giving when it came to disaster relief.

“Recently, a commentary aired by a radio station insulted Buddhism and its followers by saying that only Christians distribute relief stuff to inmates in prisons as well as victims of typhoons, floods and earthquakes,” read the letter, which was distributed last week and signed by Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith.

Meanwhile, the government on Saturday announced that it would contribute US$50,000 of aid money for victims of last week’s massive earthquake in Haiti, and Prime Minister Hun Sen has expressed his condolences in a message to its victims.

A preliminary estimate published by the Red Cross last week put the total number of affected people in Haiti at 3.5 million.