Firebrand monk Wirathu hits back at UN\, international community

Firebrand monk Wirathu hits back at UN, international community

AFP  |  Yangon 

An ultra-nationalist monk -- dubbed the "Bin Laden" -- on Sunday condemned the international community for their calls to bring Myanmar's generals to justice over the

The ban, which ended in March, was issued by a council of senior monks who said Wirathu had "repeatedly delivered hate speech against religions to cause communal strife".

The hate speech he espouses -- which includes calling the Rohingya Muslim minority "Bengali" in an attempt to delegitimize their identity as being from -- has also caused to ban him from their platform.

The hardline abbot on Sunday reverted to his signature rhetoric at the rally to protest calls for the (ICC) to investigate Myanmar's generals for genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

"The day when the ICC comes here...is the day that Wirathu holds a gun," he said in a speech that often referred to himself in the third person.

He lauded and in the as "nationalist giants who stand with the truth" in their role of preventing any firm action against

"Don't lie to the world saying that Bengalis are Rohingya because you want to promote Islamisation in Myanmar," Wirathu said.

"Don't destroy our country by creating a fake ethnic group."

The military has said their brutal crackdown -- which led to more than 720,000 Rohingya fleeing across the border carrying accounts of rape, arson and murder -- was warranted for combatting terrorism.

While much of the world has regarded the unfolding with horror, the majority of people within side with the military as the Muslim minority group is widely detested.

The supporters showed up in force at Sunday's march, with hundreds gathering in front of downtown Yangon's iconic carrying giant portraits of Min Aung Hlaing, who UN investigators say is the most responsible.

"We can't stand the bullying of the and the Tatmadaw by the international community," said protester Khine Thet Mar, 46, using the Myanmar name for the military. The voted last month to prepare for criminal indictments over the atrocities in Myanmar.

has remained defiant in the face of international pressure, saying that no country, organisation or group has the "right to interfere in" Myanmar's sovereignty.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, October 14 2018. 20:55 IST