A court on Tuesday jailed a New Zealand bar manager and two Burmese colleagues for two-and-a-half years for insulting religion by using a psychedelic image of Buddha wearing headphones to promote their bar.
The case comes amid a surge in Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar — which emerged in 2011 from half a century of military rule — with monks forming groups aimed at promoting the country’s Buddhist character.
New Zealander Phil Blackwood, 32, and V Gastro manager Htut Ko Ko Lwin and owner Tun Thurein had all pleaded not guilty. They were given two years of hard labor for insulting religion and six months for disobeying an order from a public servant.
Photo: Reuters
After the sentencing, Blackwood told reporters as he was getting into a police van that he would appeal.
Rights groups condemned the verdict as an assault on freedom of expression and called for the release of the three.
“The authorities are clearly trying to make an example with this case, but ironically all it has done is hurt the image of Myanmar and Buddhism,” said Matt Smith, executive director of the Bangkok-based group Fortify Rights.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the three men acted in a culturally insensitive way, but they should not be sent to prison.
“What this shows is freedom of expression is under greater threat than ever in Burma just as the country heads into a pivotal election year,” Robertson said in an e-mail statement.
Some people have compared the case with recent remarks made by a prominent monk and Buddhist nationalist, Wirathu, who called a UN human rights envoy a “whore.”
A senior monk and an official in the Religious Affairs Ministry said in January that Wirathu’s remark could harm Buddhism. He has not been charged.
At a hearing in December last year, Blackwood said he had not intended to offend Buddhism when he posted the image on the bar’s Facebook page to advertise a cheap drinks night.
He said he had removed the image and posted an apology when he realized it was being shared online and provoking outrage.
“These men expressed contrition for what they said was a mistake, but meanwhile extremists like Wirathu have incited violence in the name of Buddhism and publicly attacked a senior UN official with truly offensive remarks,” Smith said.
Myanmar’s government has lifted restrictions on freedom of speech, association and media, but reforms have been accompanied by a rise in Buddhist nationalism.
The main target of the nationalist movement has been Muslims, who make up about 5 percent of the population. Sectarian violence since June 2012 has killed at least 240 people, most of them Muslims.
Additional reporting by AP
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