Arrest of U Wirathu ordered

01 June 2019
Arrest of U Wirathu ordered
(FILE) Myanmar nationalist Buddhist monk Wirathu delivers a speech during a rally in Yangon, Myanmar, 30 August 2017. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs was ordered Friday to arrest and prosecute Buddhist monk Wirathu for sedition after he made inflammatory comments against the civilian-led government and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi at nationalist rallies, RFA reported.

An arrest warrant was issued by a local court for Wirathu on May 28 under Section 124(a) of the country’s Penal Code for “excit[ing] or attempt[ing] to excite disaffection towards the government,” though police have yet to lay out the specific grounds for the warrant.

Local media has reported that Wirathu is being sought by police for criticizing Aung San Suu Kyi for marrying a foreigner—a British scholar who died in 1999—and over her handling of the conflict with Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state during a May 5 nationalist rally.