Police investigate gay marriage ceremony in Yangon Skip to main content

Police investigate gay marriage ceremony in Yangon

Eleven Media
 
Published on Tuesday, 04 March 2014 14:17
mar4-gaymarriage
YANGON - Police are investigating a marriage ceremony held between two gay lovers on March 2 after daily newspapers reported the event leading to widespread criticism. 

Local dailies The Voice, 7 Day and Democracy Today reported the first public gay marriage ceremony between Myo Min Htet and Tin Ko Ko held on Sunday at the Excel Hotel in Yangon. Police are currently investigating whether they broke a law on same-sex intercourse that can carry up to life in prison.  

"Our police force will investigate the wedding reception that was held at the Excel Hotel in Yangon. If it's against the Section 377, we will take legal actions," lieutenant Myint Lwin San from Bahan Police Department told Eleven Media.

The event attracted public criticism, questioning if Myanmar allows same-sex marriages or whether the couple had broken Section 377 of the Penal Code that states:

"Anyone who has sexual intercourse with a male or female or animal abnormally shall be given a life sentence or a sentence of 10 years in prison or a fine or both.”

Myo Min Htet and Tin Ko Ko have been together for 10 years and celebrated their anniversary by getting married in a public ceremony with friends and relatives. Both work with separate local community-based organisations for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights and healthcare. 

This was the first public gay marriage in Myanmar and the couple originally kept the location secret for fear that protestors might interrupt the ceremony. 

“I am happy I can make a difference that other people in our community have never done before,” Tin Ko Ko was quoted as saying by the Myanmar Times.

Criticism of the wedding abounded on social media as well as religious organisations, with many calling the ceremony unlawful and against Buddhism. 

"Our Buddhism doesn’t allow it. It's not appropriate naturally. We [Buddhist monks] also do not agree with it. We will not support any misconduct that is against the democratic system. It's also against the Buddha teaching. It's not appropriate…We should outlaw it extensively," said U Pamoukka, presiding abbot of the Magway Monastery. 

Some Facebook users said the event was a shameful and unacceptable thing for Myanmar. 
“I think it's not appropriate to report it as an important issue on front pages. I want to ask them if they support such an illegal act. [The ceremony] is like an assault to our Myanmar community," commented Nari Min on a Facebook discussion. 

Only 15 countries in the world officially allow same-sex marriage, but no country in Asia, besides Israel, has yet to support it by law. 

Myanmar has 19 organisations that support LGBT rights. Aung Myo Min, director of HREIB, a local organisation that works for gay rights, said that the marriage was not an official marriage but a ceremony among friends to celebrate their relationship. 

"They only made the ceremony to show they have been loyal to each other for 10 years among their friends. Our country doesn’t allow same-sex marriage. They explained that their marriage is not in accord with the law," said Aung Myo Min.

Myo Min Htet and Tin Ko Ko were unavailable to comment. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Ancient Rakhine City of Mrauk-U Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Irrawaddy YANGON—Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted the final draft of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO on Monday, four months after the ministry submitted the first draft of its nomination in September 2019. If the application succeeds, Mrauk-U will be the third place in Myanmar to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the ancient cities of Bagan and Pyu. Mrauk-U is located in northern Rakhine State, around 60 km from the state capital of Sittwe. The ancient city was the seat of Arakanese kings from the 1400s until the late 1700s. At the height of their power, they controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of central Myanmar. Much of the city’s remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Mrauk-U Heritage Trust chairwoman Daw Khin Than told The Irrawaddy on Tue...
1 comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more