BHRN Warns of Rising Atrocity Risks Amid Escalating Anti-Muslim Hate Speech

Documentation by the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) reveals an alarming increase in hate speech and incitement to violence targeting Myanmar’s Muslim minorities, including the Rohingya. These developments, amplified by ultranationalist Buddhist monks aligned with the military junta, reflect an increasingly coordinated effort to legitimize discrimination, provoke religious tensions, and normalize violence. The patterns observed online and offline raise urgent concerns under international law and signal an elevated risk of mass atrocity crimes.

“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, accused that “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. According to a local interviewee, MaBaTha agitation led to police deployments around the mosque, intensifying public fear and raising concerns over forced conscription rather than community protection.

In Meiktila, the site of a deadly anti-Muslim pogrom in 2013, local Muslims told BHRN they are witnessing a resurgence of extremist narratives. One resident told BHRN, “Even before Meiktila, these MaBaThas were propagating this ideology in the same way. They can create religious violence whenever they want.”

Residents described intensified surveillance, propaganda portraying Muslims as threats, and increasing efforts to frame the ARSA-AA conflict in Rakhine as a broader religious war, part of a strategy to polarize communities and justify repression.

The growing influence of militant monks and nationalist religious figures is not new. Since the rise of the 969 Movement and MaBaTha over a decade ago, ultranationalist Buddhist ideologues have repeatedly incited violence against Muslim communities, particularly the Rohingya. These campaigns were instrumental in shaping public support for the military’s genocidal operations in 2017, which displaced over 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh and led to international findings of genocidal intent.

Since the 2021 coup, the military has reintegrated MaBaTha-aligned clergy into its governing apparatus. Monks such as Ashin Wirathu and Warthawa now reportedly hold informal influence over the Pyusawhti militias, a decentralized network of pro-junta armed groups implicated in extrajudicial killings, torture, and village burnings. These militias operate with impunity and are frequently deployed to terrorize communities, especially those resisting military rule or sheltering minority populations.

The confluence of hate speech, the mobilization of paramilitary groups, police intimidation at religious sites, and the scapegoating of minority communities mirrors established early warning signs of atrocity crimes. These include:

• Dehumanizing rhetoric targeting Muslims
• Inflammatory religious propaganda framing Muslims as “outsiders” or “threats”
• Militia mobilization against unarmed civilians
• Legal and bureaucratic harassment of religious minorities and their institutions

Despite these developments, international engagement has diminished. Humanitarian access is still heavily restricted, UN mechanisms remain underfunded, and international accountability efforts remain slow. Meanwhile, the Rohingya face continued annihilation in Rakhine State, and Muslim communities across central and southern Myanmar are being driven further to the margins through fear, violence, and erasure.

Ma Ba Tha monk and others posted in September, spreading hate speech by accusing Muslims of being violent and extremist, while they opposed the fencing of the two mosques in Nay Pyi Taw, even though the military government had officially authorized those sites.

BHRN urges international actors, including the UN, OIC, ASEAN, and donor governments to:

1. Initiate independent monitoring of hate speech trends and early warning signs of mass atrocities against Muslim minorities in Myanmar, including through OHCHR and UN Special Procedures.
2. Publicly condemn MaBaTha, 969, and other ultranationalist actors inciting violence and pressure the junta to dismantle state-supported militia structures like the Pyusawhti.
3. Impose targeted sanctions on individuals and organizations responsible for inciting or enabling religious violence.
4. Support documentation efforts by civil society organizations to preserve evidence of hate crimes and religious persecution.
5. Ensure full and equal protection of places of worship, especially in areas under junta or Pyusawhti control, through international advocacy and local partnerships.

The same ideology that fueled the Rohingya genocide is resurfacing, now emboldened by state backing and militia mobilization,” said Kyaw Win. “If the world waits for another wave of mass killing to act, it will have knowingly failed in its duty to prevent atrocities.”

Organisation’s Background

BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders.

Media Enquiries
Please contact:

Kyaw Win
Executive Director
Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
E: kyawwin@bhrn.org.uk
T: +44(0) 740 345 2378

Ye Min
Editor
Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
E: ye.min@bhrn.org.uk
T: +66(0) 994 942 358

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