14 A NATION LEFT BEHIND A mural in the Myitkyina railway station called “Stay at Home, Save Lives” was intended to promote awareness of the dangers of COVID-19, but led to the arrest of artists Zayyar Nawng, Cecilia Ja Seng and Naw Tun Aung under charges of insulting Buddhism. (Credit: Kachin News Group) Three painters in Myitkyina, Kachin State – grave danger of the current pandemic.39 Zayyar Nawng, Cecilia Ja Seng and Naw Tun The law the painters are accused of violat- Aung – are now facing criminal charges for ing, Article 295 (a) of Myanmar’s penal code, is insulting Buddhism after they created a public a colonial-era statute that punishes “deliberate mural depicting the coronavirus threat to and malicious acts” committed with the in- public health. Captioned “Stay at Home, Save tention of “outrag[ing] religious feelings.” Five Lives,” the work features a grim reaper wearing years ago, the law was used to prosecute bar a red-hued robe, an artistic choice which some owners who used the image of a Buddha wear- Myanmar netizens alleged was intended to ing headphones to promote a drink special, and resemble a Buddhist monk’s robes. The primary an NLD member who publicly criticized the artist – himself a Buddhist – has said that there cooptation of Buddhism for nationalist purpos- is no religious connotation intended in the es.40 Members of the ultranationalist Buddhist work; it was only meant to convey to locals the organization Ma Ba Tha41 were noticeably pres- 39 Kachin News Group. “Myitkyina Painters Promoting COVID-19 Awareness Charged With Insulting Buddhism.” 6 April 2020. Available at: https://kachinnews.com/2020/04/06/myitkyina-painters-promoting-covid-19-awareness-charged-with-insulting-buddhism/ 40 Oliver Slow. “The left-over laws: Myanmar’s colonial hangover.” Frontier Myanmar. 27 February 2016. Available at: https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/the-left-over-laws-myanmars-colonial-hangover 41 Also known as the Patriotic Association of Myanmar and the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, Ma Ba Tha has been influential in the drafting of discriminatory laws targeting Myanmar’s Muslim population, restricting religious conversion, interfaith marriages, and birth rates. The group has also been instrumental in hate speech campaigns against the Rohingya minority. While Ma Ba Tha has officially been disbanded, it continues to be an active and influential player in Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar.