MANDALAY, Myanmar (RNS) While Myanmar’s strict curbs on religious freedom continue to draw international scrutiny, its lax enforcement of noise limits is attracting the ire of locals.
Residents of the densely populated cities of Mandalay and Yangon are demanding stronger rules and regulations to control the use of loudspeakers in the country’s many religious festivals.
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is a predominantly Buddhist country in Southeast Asia with significant Christian, Muslim, Hindu and animist minority communities.
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Other faiths are also causing complaints. Maung Maung Swe, a journalist in the capital city of Yangon, said the noise from a Hindu temple near his house sometimes continues until 2 a.m.
“It is quite annoying,” he said. “We don’t want to blame it on religious activity, but no one can sleep through the night.”
This story is part of a series on religious freedom and conflict in Myanmar, brought to you with support from Religion Newswriters and the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
