Myanmar deports Italian tourist over religious tattoo

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - Authorities confirmed Wednesday that an Italian man has been deported from Myanmar for sporting an image of a religious deity on his leg -- the latest person to fall foul of the law for having a tattoo displaying a Buddhist figure.

Although the predominantly Buddhist country has enjoyed a series of democratic reforms of late, it has also witnessed a rise in fervent nationalism.

The 44-year-old tourist -- named as Mola Giannunzoo Michele -- was detained in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, Monday after residents filed police reports about the Buddha tattoo on his calf.

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that the man was blacklisted for violating visa regulations and the Myanmar Immigration Emergency Provision Act (1947).

“We blacklist him as his tattoo could make local people angry and cause unnecessary problems,” Mynit Kyaing said by phone.

He confirmed the man was deported from Yangon International Airport to Thailand on Tuesday.

The 2015 election of a civilian government after decades of junta rule has opened the once isolated country up to lucrative foreign investment and tourists.

However, democratic changes have coincided with a rise in religious intolerance, and a Buddhist nationalist movement focused on denigrating the country's minority Muslim population.

Although images and tattoos of the Buddha are not banned in Myanmar, there have been other cases of locals being sensitive about the use of the Buddha's image.

On July 11, a Spanish tourist couple was asked to leave the ancient city of Bagan in central Myanmar due to fears for their safety, after locals spotted a Buddha tattoo on the husband’s calf.

They were deported to Thailand the same day.

In 2014, a Canadian tourist who identified as a practicing Buddhist was also detained and deported for sporting a leg tattoo of a Buddha.