Press. voanews.com
Ashin Wirathu,
the Burmese Buddhist monk known for whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment in
Myanmar, is the subject of a new documentary airing at France’s renowned Cannes
Film Festival, which starts Wednesday. By filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, “The
Venerable W” will appear in a special screening at one of the most prestigious
cultural events in the world, marking the culmination of Wirathu’s journey from
an obscure rabble-rouser to international infamy.
But his path to
notoriety abroad points to questions back home about how much of a role the
media have played in fueling his rise. Some believe he has been given too much
of a platform for his hateful views or that coverage of his activities merits a
more thoughtful approach.
Media attention
for anti-Muslim views
He has been
famous because of the interviews and because of the posts in the local media,”
said Thitsa Hla Htway, secretary of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of
Myanmar. He urged journalists to not report his more repugnant musings and to
report on more diverse issues.
“What I want to
stress is that they should just stay away from him and his popularity will go
down. There are many important issues in Myanmar which are more important than
him,” he said.
In and out of
prison
This wasn’t the
feeling five years ago, when Myanmar was emerging from military rule and
grappling with ascendant Buddhist nationalist forces in the form of the 969
movement and Ma Ba Tha, the Committee to Protect Race and Religion.
Sentenced to
prison for 25 years in 2003 for inciting violence, Wirathu was released in an
amnesty in 2012, the same year that saw the first of several deadly riots to
plague the country’s transition to democracy from nearly five decades of military
rule.
'Time magazine'
interview
Though Myanmar
has long struggled to contain religious enmity, the story was not often heard
outside of the country due to its isolation. That changed with a 2013 TIME
magazine issue that put Wirathu on the cover and sought to explain the man's
connection to the mayhem.
The initial
coverage was revealing, but over the years, Wirathu was interviewed by
countless journalists, including the author of this article. Doubt crept into
the worthiness of the enterprise for many journalists.
Social media
star
But his
following on social media is enormous, his posts can be inflammatory, and the
fact that he has not faced strong pushback implies he has connections. Thiha
Saw, the director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, said he credits
Wirathu’s rise more to the explosion of internet access that has occurred in
recent years. He added that mainstream media outlets in Myanmar have been
cautious about not giving Wirathu an unnecessary amount of exposure.
Supported
military
But his level of
influence remains an open question. He supported the military-backed ruling
party in a 2015 election contest against Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for
Democracy, which won easily. This past March, Wirathu was hit with a ban on
giving sermons for one year.
Even so, he was
allowed to travel to a part of northern Rakhine State this month that has been
largely closed off to observers since Rohingya militants attacked border posts
in October, killing nine and setting off a crackdown that has resulted in
accusations of possible crimes against humanity.
British
journalist Oliver Slow, the chief of staff for the weekly magazine Frontier
Myanmar, said in his personal opinion there needs to be a mix of scrutiny and
restraint in the reporting.
Journalists want
more scrutiny of Wirathu
“I think
obviously he [Wirathu] needs to be heavily scrutinized. His group and the
people behind him have the potential to cause massive issues, so I think it’s
important to be reporting on him and what they are doing,” Slow said. “But I
think we pretty much know all his views now, they’ve been aired for the past
four or five years. His views on Muslims, his views on religion, have been so
well aired, I just don’t really see any benefit any more of interviewing him.”
Matthew Smith,
executive director of the NGO Fortify Rights, said in an email he isn’t
persuaded by arguments the media has disproportionately fueled Wirathu’s rise
to power, even if Wirathu has benefited from the attention.
“Wirathu is a
populist demagogue with a considerable following and powerful connections
behind the scenes,” Smith said. “But he and his followers have unarguably used
international media attention to their advantage, to build their prominence and
advance nationalist and racist narratives.”
Smith wants more
investigative coverage of Wirathu.
“We see the
occasional profile piece and don't find those terribly helpful. Most foreign
readers, particularly in the West, regard Buddhism as a tranquil religion of
peace, so editors have endless fodder in stories of an extremist monk who
preaches hatred."
Schroeder, the
filmmaker, did not immediately respond to a request for an interview sent
through his production company.