The Myanmar Times
A non-governmental group on Sunday cancelled its plan to
hold a news conference to denounce the inflammatory sermons of nationalist monk
U Wirathu, after supporters of the controversial monk gathered outside the
venue where the event was to be held.
The Anti-Adhamma (unlawfulness) committee was supposed to
call on the other monks to take action against U Wirathu because, they alleged,
his preaching espouses hatred.
Several monks and lay people who support the controversial
monk assembled outside the Myanmar Journalist Network office at Kyauktada
township of Yangon a few hours before the scheduled news conference.
“This news conference can create problems. Actually, it
is to explain to journalists the issue but monks and laymen arrived,” U Myat
Kyaw, a leader of the committee, told reporters.
“If we continue with the briefing, there might be chaos”
he added. “As we don’t want that, we stopped the news conference. One could
guess from their response that if we had continued, it would have caused a
fight.”
About 20 monks and 30 people, who called themselves
patriots, expressed their support for U Wirathu and challenged the organisers
of the event.
“If you explain, just explain properly. Make sure your
actions match your words,” one shouted.
“The invitation letter says that monks will be urged to
take action against U Wirathu. What has he done to deserve it? If U Wirathu is
guilty, the Sangha will take action,” another supporter said.
“Why would there be a Sangha Nayaka in the first place?
Ordinary people could not vote and do that. In fact, this is inviting a fight.
A fight would start there as people from both sides started to argue. We object
to it,” a so-called patriotic monk from Kawhmu township said.
The monk would not give out his name to reporters, whom
he called spineless.
U Wirathu has been accused of hate speech, causing a rift
between religions and worsening political divisiveness. He is a strong critic
of the ruling National League for Democracy.
In May last year, Myanmar’s top Buddhist authority, the
State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, ordered the disbandment of the Ma Ba Tha
organisation of which U Wirathu was a prominent leader.