A Swiss director and 13 amateur actors, including a 12-year-old girl, have been arrested over a movie that junta members accuse of committing blasphemy against Buddhism.
“Don’t Expect Anything” was written and produced by Swiss director Didier Nusbaumer and uploaded on the YouTube channel Isi Dhamma on July 24.
The movie, which criticizes monks who do not follow the Buddhist precepts, has received over 42,000 views and nearly 1,000 likes since it was posted on YouTube.
On its official website, the junta announced that it would 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 movie also harms Myanmar’s culture and Buddhist traditions, the junta’s website alleges.
A pro-junta Telegram channel reported that 14 people were arrested over the movie on August 8. It displayed photographs of 11 detainees, including the 12-year-old girl. Photographs of the other three detainees were not shown.
A freelance videographer condemned the arrest of amateur actors and the director, saying that criticizing monks who violate Buddhist teachings should not be a crime.
“These arrests are totally ridiculous and unacceptable,” he said, explaining: “Artists definitely have the right to criticize both political rulers and religious leaders over their misconduct and wrongdoing.”
He also accused the junta of performative Buddhism. The arrests are an attempt to portray junta members as defenders of Buddhism, he explained.
The junta has arrested dozens of Buddhist monks, and killed and jailed some for actions that displease it.
Some senior monks in Myanmar have been widely criticized for supporting a military regime that commits atrocities, including killing monks.
Since the junta announced the arrest of the director and the amateur actors, the film’s popularity has surged. “I really enjoyed the movie because it reflects the current situation in my country to some extent,” one viewer commented.
