Today the Myanmar military (junta) awarded Buddhist Monk, Wirathu, the honorific title “Thiri Pyanchi” for “his outstanding work for the good of the Union of Myanmar” as reported by the junta’s information teams and subsequently reported by international media outlets. Wirathu is the leader of 969 or Ma Ba Tha movement which has rebranded itself as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion and again as the Buddha Dhamma Prahita Foundation. Wirathu and his followers have actively used social media outlets such as Facebook/Meta to active promote their vitriolic attacks of the Rohingya people and other Muslim groups in Burma. As a leading ultranationalist in Myanmar, Wirathu’s campaign to further the Rohingya genocide ultimately led to the most recent purge in 2017 causing nearly 1 million people to flee into Bangladesh.
Nearly two years ago he “surrendered” and was sent to prison but was released a few months after the February 1st coup by the junta.
ARNO calls upon the international community, particularly governments who are open to utilizing universal jurisdiction to prosecute Wirathu as he is 100% complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya people. As always, ARNO calls upon the international community to continue its pursuit in holding the junta accountable for continuing bloodshed and violence against the Rohingya people and all ethnic minorities in Burma. Regional governments, in particular ASEAN, must do more to take justice and accountability seriously. The UN Security Council has an opportunity deliver justice to the people of Burma through the creation of an independent tribunal or a referral to the International Criminal Court.
The further the international community waits to take action against these perpetrators the more complicit they too will become in the genocide.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Mohammad Habib Ullah
Cell, WhatsApp: +1-4438158609
Email: arno@rohingya.org/ info@rohingya.org