Mizzima-Oct 20
On 17 October, the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) issued a statement warning of increasing risks of atrocities due to a rise in anti-Muslim hate speech and incitement to violence throughout Myanmar.
BHRN urged the UN, ASEAN, OIC, and international governments to take immediate action by monitoring hate-speech trends, sanctioning extremist actors, dismantling junta-backed militias like Pyusawhti, and ensuring protection of Myanmar’s Muslim and Rohingya communities. The statement: “We are seeing all the early warning signs including dehumanization, religious scapegoating, and a resurgence of ultranationalist ideologies operating with impunity,” said Kyaw Win, Executive Director of the Burma Human Rights Network. “This closely mirrors the lead-up to the Rohingya genocide and must be treated as an emergency signal for atrocity prevention.” BHRN has documented a growing number of online hate speech incidents inciting violence against Muslims. This includes Facebook posts, videos, and Telegram messages from MaBaTha-linked accounts, calling for the destruction of mosques, bans on Muslim gatherings, and the expulsion of “Bengalis” and other so-called “non-citizens.” In one verified video recorded in front of the Ye Lae Kalay mosque on 16 September 2025, an anti Muslim monk, Thu Sitta, claimed “in the so called mosques, people and weapons that will commit violence are stored here, and this place is being used as a military base.” Another nationalist, Naung Daw Lay, referred to Muslims using a racial slur, saying “radical Muslim Kalar come and stay here.” These statements, along with additional calls by a MaBaTha monk to demolish the mosque, were disseminated online to provoke communal animosity. The mosque, long abandoned due to earlier displacement of local Muslims, was being lawfully renovated with permission from the authorities. Read more at:
