YANGON (The Irrawaddy)—Muslim spiritual leader U San
Aung said he is in the process of filing a lawsuit against U Hla Swe, an
ex-military officer who represented the Union Solidarity and Development Party
(USDP) in the country’s Upper House under the U Thein Sein administration,
accusing him of hate speech against Islam.
U San Aung filed the lawsuit under
Article 295(a) of the Penal Code with Mayangon Township Court on Tuesday, but
the court ordered that the case be filed with the court in Kyauktada Township,
where U Hla Swe spoke during a rally condemning the US’ imposition of sanctions
against Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) leaders on Aug. 3 in front of Yangon
City Hall.
The article criminalizes deliberate
and malicious acts intended to outrage the feelings of any group by insulting
its religion or religious beliefs.
“As a Muslim, I can’t accept that he
said that the Prophet Muhammad would carry out a terrorist bomb attack. That’s
why I am filing a complaint. No insult to any religion, including Buddhism, is
acceptable. I want the law to be properly enforced,” U San Aung said.
During his Aug. 3 speech, U Hla Swe,
who retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel to join the military’s
proxy USDP before the 2010 general elections, said, “They [the US] can insult
three out of four religions. But do they dare touch Muhammad? I doubt the US is
that brave. If they do, Muhammad will bomb them with an airplane. They are
afraid of that.”
Read also “The government must take serious action against U Hla Swe: https://lnkd.in/gVvWsiS
Read also “The government must take serious action against U Hla Swe: https://lnkd.in/gVvWsiS
“The court rejected a lawsuit against
the US Embassy regarding a performance about the Buddha. If the court accepts
the lawsuit filed by Muslims, I will ask the court why. I will see how the
court will decide,” U Hla Swe told The Irrawaddy.
He was referring to a lawsuit filed by
nationalist monk U Parmaukha over an art exhibition promotion that included an
image of Buddha, created and shared by the US Embassy on its official Facebook
page.
The monk filed a lawsuit against US
Ambassador Scott Marciel, the artist who painted the picture and the person who
posted the picture on the Facebook page for allegedly defaming Buddhism. But
Kamayut Township rejected the lawsuit.
U San Aung said he filed a lawsuit
with Bayintnaung Police Station in Mayangon Township on Monday, but the police
said the case should be filed with the court.
He said he had received three phone
threats on Tuesday morning. In one of them, he said, somebody asked him if he
knew how many supporters the nationalist movement has.
U Hla Swe has appeared at rallies put
on by the Buddha Dhamma Prahita Foundation (formerly named Ma Ba Tha, the
Burmese-language acronym for the Association to Protect Race and Religion, by
which the group is still widely known).
Those convicted of violating Article
295(a) face two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.
Local media outlets have also reported
that an aide of former Lower House speaker and ex-General U Shwe Mann has also
filed a lawsuit under Section 10 of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security
of Citizens with Naypyitaw’s police against U Hla Swe for posts he shared on
social media. The offense carries a three-year prison term.