Tourist in Myanmar jailed for pulling
plug on Buddhist sermon
6 October
2016 The
Guardian
Dutchman gets three months for ‘interfering with prayers’ near
Mandalay hotel and fine for violating the culture
A court
in Myanmar has
sentenced a Dutch citizen to three months in prison for interfering
with a religious observance by unplugging an amplifier broadcasting
a late-night Buddhist sermon near his hotel in Mandalay.
Klaas
Haytema, who wept with his girlfriend before he left for jail in
handcuffs, was arrested late September after a crowd gathered
around his hotel in protest when the loudspeakers at a nearby
religious hall were turned off. The man who was reciting the sermon
pressed charges against Haytema.
Local media
reported that the 30-year-old had apologised and said he that he
had not known the loudspeakers were broadcasting religious
content.
Haytema was
fined 100,000 kyats (about £62) for violating visa regulations
requiring him to respect the culture. He could have been sentenced
to up to two years in prison for insulting religion in the
predominantly Buddhist country, but the judge said he opted to find
him guilty on the lesser charge, to “show mercy”.
It was
unclear if Haytema would file an appeal.
Mandalay, a tourist attraction in central Myanmar, is the
country’s cultural capital and former seat of Burmese kings. It is
culturally and religiously conservative.
In early
2015 a Myanmar court sentenced a New Zealand bar manager, Phil
Blackwood, to two years in prison after he posted an image of
Buddha wearing headphones on the bar’s official Facebook page in
late 2014. Blackwood was released in an amnesty earlier this
year.
It is
common for Buddhist groups to broadcast sermons by loudspeaker at
very high volumes. One local government reportedly has proposed
noise-control rules. Supporters quoted by local media said the
proposal was meant to alleviate stress caused to the elderly and
the ill.
Chit San, a
community leader involved in Haytema’s case, said he called police
when tempers flared after Haytema acted. “We could not negotiate
peacefully because people were angry, so we called the police to
control the situation,” Chit San said. “We actually didn’t want him
to get arrested.”