March 1, 2017
Radical Buddhist monk U Wirathu has expressed his gratitude to the killers of rights advocate U Ko Ni.
“At this time, I feel relief for the future of Buddhism in my country. If not, the destruction of Buddhism, like in Thailand, would have gained a foothold here in five years,” he wrote on Wednesday.
Wirathu also said that anyone who wants to do away with the military-drafted 2008 Constitution should heed this as a warning;
“Anyone who wants to kick out military representatives should be mindful. Anyone who wants to scrap the Constitution should be mindful,” he said.
Ko Ni was a staunch opponent of the constitution that gives the Tatmadaw effective control over any other authority in the land. Ko Ni was also controversial for speaking for the rights of Muslims. He was gunned down in January when returning from a Jakarta trip aimed to bring peace between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar.
Wirathu’s remarks comes a day after Gen Kyaw Swe of the Home Affairs Ministry blasted media personal for suggesting Buddhist nationalistswere inovolved or sympathetic in the killing of Ko Ni. .
