With Covid-19 restrictions banning mass gatherings, the political scramble for votes ahead of Myanmar’s general elections is even tougher this time round and most parties welcome any support they can get—except one, apparently.
The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party, which can't exactly counting on a landslide given the results of the 2015 poll, has reportedly filed a legal complaint against a social media user who uploaded an image of his dog wearing a t-shirt brandishing the party’s logo.
Police have chosen to pursue the case under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, an online defamation clause often rolled out to shutdown critical speech. Myanmar Mix is currently searching for the photograph to better gauge how a t-shirt-clad dog is a strong enough statement to land someone in jail. However, for now, it is safe to presume the pet in question is a good doggy.
The so-called offender has been traced to Sagaing region’s Wetlet township, according to 7Day News Daily, which quoted a police report as saying the image was uploaded through an account named “Htet Aung” on September 26.
Kyaw Thiha, chair of the USDP in Kyeekan village, filed the lawsuit at Shwe Pan Kone police station the next day, reported the news outlet, adding that police located the account owner and released him on bail after questioning.
The dog t-shirt case comes days after a Frontier Myanmar report on the USDP’s diligent team of social media researchers who scour Facebook for comments about the party.
According to the article, it is unclear how USDP plans to use this “research” in its campaign “short of responding individually to their detractors or filing dubious lawsuits.”
Meanwhile, USDP chairperson of Wetlet township Soe Khaing told 7Day News Daily that the t-shirt donned by the dog was one of 500 distributed by the party in Kyeekan village.
The party is no stranger to insults nor to forgiving them, said Soe Khaing, but “this time, a lawsuit has been opened to discourage a worse attack on the party.”
Perhaps a warning to any cats who dare flaunt the party logo.
