Adult video shot at heritage site Bagan in Myanmar sparks off social media outrage

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), Feb 16 (IANS): A 12-minute adult video shot by an Italian couple at Myanmar's tourist hotspot Bagan has enraged the country's citizens.

Bagan, which is home to over 3,000 pagodas and temples dating from the 9th to the 13th centuries, is a Unesco world heritage site that attracts a large number of tourists every year.

The video by the couple was uploaded on a popular adult website on Thursday, generating hundreds and thousands of views soon after.

The news of the video led to an outrage among locals in the country.

The video shows the couple removing their clothes and getting raunchy next to an ancient pagoda.

"Our Bagan pagodas are The Holy Land," one observer, Mg Khin Gyi, wrote on a Facebook post that also carried a number of angry emojis.

According to one web report, both foreigners and locals are prohibited from wearing shorts or inappropriate dresses, especially at pagodas, temples and religious buildings.

Myanmar also prohibits inappropriate behaviour such as kissing in religious buildings or on their grounds.

"We were shocked by that video and feel terribly sad. Having sex outdoors and at religious buildings and pagodas is intolerable? Moreover, it was in Bagan, our precious heritage of religion, culture and history," said Ko Myo Sat San of Save Bagan, a civil society group here, was quoted as saying.

"These two foreign tourists are individual travelers who came on their own itinerary. Whoever they are and with whatever agenda they bring, they should respect the host country's religion and culture. Their behavior is totally inappropriate and insulting to the country," Ko Myo Sat San said.

While some said that the incident suggests that security around the place needs to be tightened, others urged government authorities to act quickly to identify tourists and put more effort into promoting responsible tourism.