New Zealand bar manager held in Myanmar over 'Buddha' promo
YANGON (AFP) - A New Zealand bar manager is due to appear in a Myanmar court Thursday after he was arrested for allegedly insulting religion by using an image of the Buddha wearing headphones in a promotion, police said.
The promotional poster, which appeared on the bar's Facebook page, sparked outrage on social media in the predominantly Buddhist nation, which has seen a surge in religious nationalism in recent months.
General manager Philip Blackwood, 32, owner Tun Thurein, 40, and manager Htut Ko Ko Lwin, 26, were detained for police questioning Wednesday and the bar was shuttered after a complaint by an official from Myanmar's Religious Department, police said.
The posting for the newly opened V Gastro bar, a tapas restaurant and nightclub in a Yangon embassy area, showed a psychedelic mock-up of the Buddha wearing DJ headphones to trail a cheap drinks night this Sunday.
"According to Mr Philip's statement, they were trying to promote the bar. Buddha grabs people's interest... however Buddhists cannot accept it," a police official in Yangon's Bahan township told reporters late Wednesday.
"This insults the religion. So we opened the case under the Religion Act. We will file a lawsuit," he said, requesting not to be named.
