Hard-line monk was due to deliver sermon just
days after assassination of prominent Muslim lawyer
By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar
A hard-line Buddhist monk whose hate speech is accused of
fueling attacks on Myanmar's Muslim community was banned from giving a sermon
in the country’s delta region, a local media report said Thursday.
The Voice Daily local newspaper reported that the
Ayeyawaddy regional government denied the request for a public sermon by
Wirathu, a prominent but controversial monk who once appeared on the cover of
Time magazine described as “The face of Buddhist terror?” for his anti-Muslim
speeches.
Kyaw Myint, a spokesperson for the regional government,
told the paper that the ban of the monk’s public sermon was to avoid an
unnecessary situation in the area.
“The decision was made at the meeting of the regional
government,” the daily quoted him as saying.
The sermon was scheduled to be held on Wednesday in the
state capital Pathein, about 200 kilometers west of Yangon, said the
organizers.
“Authorities denied the request, citing the complex
situation in the country,” said Zaw Win from the Pathein-based Ayeyawaddy
Nationalist Network.
But three other monks were permitted to deliver public
sermons as planned, said Zaw Win.
The ban came days after the assassination of a
high-profile Muslim lawyer in the country.
Ko Ni, a legal advisor to the ruling National League for
Democracy (NLD), was shot dead by a gunman outside Yangon International Airport
on Sunday. A taxi driver was also killed as he attempted to apprehend the
gunman.
The suspected assailant Kyi Lin, a 53-year-old man from
Mandalay who was released from prison in 2014 under presidential amnesty, was
arrested shortly after the shooting.
According to leaked police documents that went viral on
social media, the suspect was hired by a man named “Myint Swe” to assassinate
Ko Ni.
“He asked me to kill a Kalar, and promised me a car after
the assassination,” Kyi Lin was quoted in the documents, using a derogatory
term for Muslims.
Police later admitted that the information in the leak
documents was accurate.
However, no motive for the killing has emerged as yet.