Several high-profile embassies in Yangon issued a statement yesterday expressing concern about “the prospect of religion being used as a tool of division and conflict during the campaign season.”
By “religion” they mean Buddhism, and more specifically, the brand of hardline Buddhism practiced by the Committee to Protect Race and Religion, or Ma Ba Tha, which held a party this week to celebrate the passage of four laws that many believe will infringe on the rights of women and religious minorities.
The statement was signed by the embassies of Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Norway, Japan, Sweden, Britain and the US.
That’s a big line-up.
But what’s more interesting is the embassy that didn’t put pen to paper: New Zealand.
One of the country’s citizens, Phil Blackwood, was convicted of “insulting religion” in March and given two and a half years in prison along with two Burmese co-defendants, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin.
The bulk of the sentence – two years – is tied to a Facebook post for a cheap drinks night at the trio’s VGastro pub in Yangon. The post in December featured a photo of the Buddha wearing headphones. Many were offended. The Committee to Protect Race and Religion was one of the first groups to complain.
The case made international headlines during the arrests in December and the trial months later, but it has disappeared from the news as the country prepares for an election. All three are still sitting in Insein prison. They were not included in a government amnesty in July that freed 6,966 inmates.
New Zealand’s government has been accused of not doing enough and not being aggressive enough to pressure Myanmar (the two Burmese defendants have no foreign government to depend on, though Blackwood’s family has consistently called for their release).
It remains to be seen whether New Zealand is helping to find a solution quietly behind the scenes or is truly powerless in this case. By ducking the letter about religion and the elections, the New Zealand embassy in Yangon may be trying to play it safe and not anger Buddhist groups further.
To be fair, many other embassies didn’t sign, but many other embassies don’t have a citizen in prison for insulting religion. Blackwood’s case is unique in this context.
His father Brian today described the government’s position, apart from consular assistance, as “passive disinterest.”
In August, Prime Minister John Key hinted that a plan was in the works to help Blackwood.
“My understanding is that there will be some more work done, if I can put it in those terms. But that’s for another day,” Key said, giving the most detailed answer about the case in nine months.
But who knows really.
The embassy in Yangon did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Photo / Hongsar Ramonya
