YANGON: A Spanish tourist faces deportation from Myanmar over a Buddha leg tattoo that offended monks, police said on Monday, in a country where the influence of religious hardliners is growing.
The man was initially detained in Bagan, an ancient town in central Myanmar where tourists flock to visit thousands of picturesque temples and pagodas.
"Monks in Bagan saw a Buddha tattoo on his right leg because he was wearing shorts. They informed us as it’s not appropriate," a police officer in Bagan told AFP, requesting anonymity, adding that the Spaniard was promptly sent back to Yangon. A police official at Yangon airport, who also asked not to be named, confirmed the detention and said the man would be deported to Bangkok on Monday evening.
The changes have coincided with the rise of a small but influential Buddhist nationalist movement that rails against the five percent of the population that are Muslim and what are perceived to be corrupting Western influences.