By Wa Lone | YANGON
May 03, 2017
A Myanmar Buddhist monk renowned for his anti-Muslim
sermons travelled to Rakhine State on Wednesday, an official said, sparking
concern over religious tension in the region, where more than one million
Rohingya Muslims live.
Wirathu - who once called himself the "Burmese bin
Laden" - would visit the Muslim-majority northern part of the western
state, said Police Colonel Nyan Win Oo of Maungdaw district police.
Police would provide security for the monk, Nyan Win Oo
said, adding he was unaware of the reason for Wirathu's visit.
"He will go to ethnic villages and will be here for
two or three days," he said, referring to settlements where non-Muslims
live.
The Rohingya are not considered one of Myanmar's
indigenous ethnic groups and are denied citizenship. They are instead regarded
as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
An estimated 75,000 Rohingya fled across the border to
Bangladesh from the Maungdaw area during a recent crackdown by Myanmar security
forces in response to militant attacks on border posts.
The insurgents - who say they are fighting for Rohingya
rights - killed nine policemen on Oct. 9, igniting the biggest crisis of
national leader Aung San Suu Kyi's first year in power.
Soldiers and police stand accused of killings and gang
rapes during the counterinsurgency operation that followed.
Several thousand non-Muslims, including members of the
Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, were also displaced by the unrest.
'SPREADS HATE'
Wirathu, once jailed by Myanmar's former military regime,
rose to prominence after the country began a transition to democracy in 2011,
uncorking long-suppressed ethnic and religious tensions.
Clashes between Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in 2012
displaced about 140,000 people, mostly from the Muslim minority.
As violence and hate speech against Muslims spread to
other parts of the country - where Muslims who are not Rohingya live among the
Buddhist majority - Wirathu delivered sermons and preached on Facebook, urging
Buddhists to boycott Muslim business and shun interfaith marriages.
He has continued to travel around the country despite
Myanmar's highest religious authority in March barring him from preaching.
Wirathu reacted to his silencing by posting online photographs of himself with
his mouth taped over.
Although the recent conflict in northern Rakhine has
abated in recent weeks, tensions remain high and Rohingya residents told
Reuters late last month they feared travelling beyond their villages in case
they encounter military patrols.
A Muslim community leader in northern Rakhine told
Reuters that after hearing of Wirathu's visit, elders met and decided to issue
a warning through religious networks.
“We are concerned about his trip because he always
spreads hate of Muslims," said the leader, who declined to be identified
for fear of reprisals.
"We informed our people to avoid any confrontation
in their communication with non-Muslim people, and to be aware and not to
panic."
(Writing by Simon Lewis; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Rohingya Activist:
Rohingya peoples living in land are worrying for Wirathu’s
visit, activists warned owned peoples not to go near and even don’t watch them,
he is there to destabilize the land more and more, to kill us more and more, to
end us as early as possible