Irrawaddy-Aug 23
Buddhist monks have criticized the junta for arresting a Swiss director and 13 amateur actors including a 12-year-old girl after alleging their movie blasphemes Buddhism. “Don’t Expect Anything” was written and produced by Swiss director Didier Nusbaumer and uploaded to the YouTube channel Isi Dhamma on July 24. The regime vowed to take legal action against 14 people for using ‘offensive and disrespectful language’ in the movie, saying they had insulted the virtue of Buddhist monks. The junta also alleged that the film harmed Myanmar’s culture and Buddhist traditions. Buddhist monks opposed to military rule were quick to counter the allegations, pointing out that Buddhism encourages critical thinking and rejects blind acceptance of the Buddha’s teachings. They also accused the regime and its supporters of misusing Buddhism. The 75-minute film shows the 12-year-old protagonist questioning certain Buddhist customs and criticizing monks who do not follow rules.
The military regime alleged the character uses “rude and insulting words against the culture and tradition of Buddhists by harming the good virtues of monks.”
However, Buddhist monk U Kovida from Mandalay said he perceived no insult in the character’s statements and questions. “In my view, [the arrests] are just oppression on the pretext of [the response to] insulting Buddhism,” said the monk. The detained Swiss director holds a meditation visa and had been practicing at Phaung Daw Oo monastic school in Mandalay since 2016. He shares educational videos about Buddhism on the Facebook page “Dhamma Pictures.” Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/buddhist-monks-condemn-myanmar-junta-for-arrests-over-blasphemous-movie.html
