Original subtitles

[light dramatic music]

[upbeat music]

[people laughing]

[singing in foreign language]

[bells ringing] [light dramatic music]

I wrote two sermons about the African catfish.

The main features of the African catfish are that:

they grow very fast.

They breed very fast too.

And they're violent.

They eat their own species

and destroy their natural resources.

The Muslims are exactly like these fish.

[spiritual music]

[water sloshing]

[muffled talking]

In our religion, the Buddha is not a god.

He's a human being, no more, no less.

We believe in karma and resurrection.

Throughout their lives and past lives,

the accumulation of karma can help Buddhists

to become a Buddha themselves and reach enlightenment.

[muffled talking]

For us monks, there are only four material things:

the texts, the robe, the monastery we belong to,

and the bowl in which we receive arms of food,

providing karma to those who give to us.

Buddhist men must become monks at least

once in their lives.

They can choose for how long.

When you are a monk you are considered

a sacred being by ordinary people.

The Buddha is often above good and evil,

[speaking foreign language]

[birds chirping]

[broom scratching]

[birds chirping]

[birds chirping]

If children have a notion

of Buddhism,

they will practice it well in the future.

They also have to know, from their earliest days,

who the enemy is and where danger is.

This is why I teach mostly to children.

[light music] [muffled talking]

In the morning, I have the monks recite the doctrine.

Then I write.

Then I give sermons.

Finally, I help people who've been persecuted by Muslims.

[phone ringtone playing]

[speaking foreign language]

[engine rumbling]

[dog barking]

[horns honking]

[singing in foreign language]

Learn the title of my sermon well:

"Believe in and love 969."

Repeat.

"Believe in and love 969."

969 is an organization protecting

race and religion, without violence or aggression.

Do you agree?

Yes, we do.

Let's chant.

For race and religion.

For race and religion.

We must adopt 969

for peace to prevail.

Some businessmen

have long-established trades.

Among them, a rich Muslim has a slogan:

"To destroy a race, you need to use money."

What did he say?

"To destroy a race, you need to use money."

The Muslim calls it the "sex strategy".

He hires many young girls to work for him.

So they can see each other every day.

They have everything a woman can desire.

Sex and desire.

And since they have both,

girls marry them.

When they're a couple, they're given a flat.

They're manipulated by these men and abandon their religion.

All these girls who work for them

and who marry them

abandon their religion.

That is the "sex strategy."

Does it work?

Yes, it does.

If we let them do so on the pretext of human rights,

won't our race be destroyed?

Yes, it will.

And our religion?

Our religion too.

Will it disappear?

Yes, it will.

Don't we need a law?

Yes, we do.

That's it.

Tonight we were astonished by the amount of money

and donations collected at the end of the sermon.

[chanting in foreign language]

We consider 969 as the cosmological opposite of 786,

that represents for Muslims in the name of Allah,

the most clement and merciful.

The goal of 969 is to bring together

the Burmese Buddhists, founders of the Burmese nation.

We, the Buddhists, account for more than 90%

of Burma's population.

A country with some 135 ethnicities and four religions.

Did you know Muslims represent just 4% of the population?

I was born in 1968

in Kyaukse, near Mandalay.

When I was in high school, my father retired,

and we faced financial difficulties.

We had to help him. It was a difficult time for us.

[traffic humming] [birds chirping]

My father would sell water in tanks, riding from an oxcart,

and I had to walk behind him.

I became a monk at 17.

At first, I thought I'd remain a monk for just a few months.

But when I learned the Dhamma and practiced meditation,

I decided to continue.

My family was angry when I decided to be a monk all my life.

My father banged his head against the wall.

[engine rumbling] [light dramatic music]

Near Kyaukse, there's a Muslim village,

Lapang.

In all the nearby Burmese villages,

there had been cases of rape.

[light dramatic music]

A 14-year-old girl

was raped in the night.

She was tied naked to a tree.

She was only found in the morning.

I was 12.

When the authorities investigated,

all the Muslims from that village shaved their heads

so as not to be recognized.

A popular belief says if you're capable

of killing an animal, then you can kill a man.

We, the Buddhists, are opposed to animal sacrifice.

[light dramatic music]

[birds chirping]

My Master no longer lives in the monastery where I studied.

He went on a meditation retreat in the countryside.

I was 45 when I met Wirathu.

He was about 14.

This is how his mind is set.

He received the same education

as the other students.

He's brilliant

and shows vigor in the study of Buddhism.

I've never trained him.

He's a natural.

[muffled talking]

In 1991, aged 23,

Wirathu goes to Mandalay

and settles at the Ma Soe Yein monastery.

[horn honking]

He will always stay in touch

with his former monastery in Kyaukse.

[singing in foreign language]

[water sloshing]

In Kyaukse, I didn't have to go out for the food-offering ritual,

so I had plenty of time to study.

But in Mandalay,

I had to go out every morning with my begging bowl.

It was hard to get a good meal.

In Kyaukse, we helped each other

when we had difficulties or fell ill.

But in Mandalay, when I'd fall ill,

I was alone and had to take care of myself.

[water sloshing]

Eight years later,

I became a member of the monastic council.

That same year, I wrote a book about meditation

that was banned by censorship.

The monk at the censorship office was close to the military.

[ominous music]

At the time, almost all the Masters

were revered by the military in power.

This censor monk was not pleased because I'd criticized his Masters.

So I had the book published illegally.

I used the pen name "Wirathu - Ma Soe Yein".

Since the book was a success, I became "Wirathu - Ma Soe Yein."

The Battle of Theravada.

Those who've read it still respect me.

The idea of the book came to me in 1993.

I'd watched a video

about the meditation technique of the Tant Kyi Taung monastery.

So I looked into the Buddhist canon

to see if the monk was speaking according to scriptures.

[man coughing]

The Master of Tant Kyi Taung was wrong

about how to breathe in meditation.

When you inhale, you feel the air touching your nasal cavity.

And when you exhale,

you feel the air touching the tip of your upper lip.

What you need to do in meditation

is to focus on the contact of the air.

But the Master of Tant Kyi Taung said

you needed to breathe heavily,

like a cow, making noise.

[woman sobbing]

[whistling]

Some roar like tigers,

some scratch

like monkeys,

some slither like snakes,

and some cluck like hens.

[heavy breathing]

[thudding]

That monk went to the United States

to teach his method.

I don't like that.

He didn't limit himself to our country.

Foreigners might think that this is Buddhism,

but that's not true.

His monastery has a branch in Los Angeles, called Azusa.

When the book was published,

the monk from Tant Kyi Taung sued me,

but the other monks supported me.

[light dramatic music]

Demonstrations of Buddhist monks...

... mosque burnt down...

... Buddhist girl raped...

... 100 monks jailed...

I only heard

of the Muslims' intentions in 1997.

Before that, our eyes were closed,

but in 1997, we finally opened them.

Wirathu discovers an important book for him.

"In Fear of our Race Disappearing".

Those were typewritten and xeroxed pages,

so they became less readable over time.

I read it in 1997.

This book has always been banned by the military,

except when it served their interests.

[leaves rustling] [birds chirping]

At the time, my fellow monks

from other monasteries in Mandalay and I

were still young Masters.

We'd taken the bus no. 8 to go to the cemetery.

It was around 8 pm.

We'd perched on stools

to make our speeches.

They didn't have a mic.

Having no mic, they had to shout.

A young woman and a kalar were on a date.

So they beat up the kalar. I was quite pleased.

His code name was "Myo Chit Thu," the patriot.

To hide,

they'd put the monk's robe on their heads

and wear dark glasses.

And they'd go by code names.

We did that to hide our identity from secret service.

Had they known who we were,

they'd have informed our Great Masters in the monasteries,

and we'd have faced dismissal.

Wirathu told people not to buy from Muslim shops

or to sell property to Muslims,

even at a very good price, etc.

His words could incite hatred.

That's why the government banned him from sermons.

The noise of the applause

could reach the sky.

At the time, people were afraid to clap.

Despite that, some monks had dared to clap,

and all the country had shown interest in us.

This is how the nationalist ideas spread.

Every summer, he would go to Kyangin to teach.

After giving two sermons,

he found out the authorities were planning to arrest him,

and secret service did come to question him.

So he stopped giving sermons and went back to Mandalay.

These two sermons had been recorded.

The monks made copies

and handed them out widely.

In Mandalay,

when he arrived, the cassettes were already there.

That's how everybody got to know him.

When he became one of the heads of the Ma Soe Yein monastery,

the Great Masters no longer prevented him from giving sermons.

Someone told me this book,

"In Fear of our Race Disappearing"

has inspired all the nationalist pamphlets

and anti-Muslim tracks in our country.

At the start of 2003, even though they were banned,

these were openly distributed in the markets of Kyaukse.

Protecting race and religion is not an easy task.

It breaks my heart. Where are we Burmese going?

The threat against Buddhism has reached alert level.

In the end, there are less and less Buddhists

and more and more kalars.

What's the government doing?

Nothing!

[people clapping]

Besides, the Muslims live in our country,

they're well-established,

they live on our land,

they use our resources,

and they have all the rights they want.

You'd think they'd be happy, right?

That's not enough for them.

They insult and attack

our religion.

I can't stand what they do to us. What about you, Venerables?

No!

So, listen to me carefully.

In a few days, I will make a decision.

As soon as I give the signal, get ready to follow me.

[people clapping]

Meanwhile, I need to plan the operation well,

like the CIA or the Mossad,

for it to be effective.

So our action will be successful.

The 1997 riots in Mandalay had no leader.

That's why we failed.

This time, I am the leader!

I will make sure the kalars have nothing left to eat.

[people whistling and clapping]

And I will make sure they have no place to live.

[fire roaring]

[speaking foreign language]

It all started on October 19, 2003 at 5:30 pm.

Around 11 pm, it was over.

Muslim houses were burnt down.

Muslims died.

A monk was riding a motorbike through the village of Lapang

on his way to a religious festival.

The Muslims of Lapang went out and killed him.

If this monk hadn't been murdered,

I wouldn't have been arrested.

A dead monk was a serious matter.

They feared the whole country would rise up.

They arrested us to prevent

a great movement throughout the country.

The international community, the UN and Muslim countries

put pressure on the government.

The military got scared. They imprisoned people randomly.

They arrested me and accused me

of inciting and orchestrating these conflicts.

He went to prison

because of me.

The same time I did.

In prison, it was a Muslim

who cooked for Wirathu.

He'd ask him what he wanted

then ask the guards for the ingredients and cook.

Being a Muslim, he didn't know about the alms-giving ritual,

so other people would offer food to Wirathu.

[speaking foreign language]

This Muslim told me

he had a friendly relationship with Wirathu.

They had fun conversations

and talked about everything

but religion.

They say prison is "the university of life."

You can learn a lot,

there are many subjects.

In prison, I practiced meditation for 99 months.

My serenity comes from the concentration I acquired there.

[singing in foreign language]

Another book I wrote was translated into English.

Its title is: The Culprits of History.

I wrote it in prison.

I wrote about the behavior of the Monks' Council

and their corruption.

Basically, I was pointing out that this Monks' Council

was the armed wing of the military government.

[military music]

I was the one who started the 2007 "Saffron Revolution."

It was thanks to a report I wrote in prison

that the revolution started.

No.

The 2007 "Saffron Revolution" was not started by one single person.

And it was not done by one single person.

All the religious body had worked

to free the whole country.

Among the leaders,

there were five monks,

myself included.

[people clapping] [people chanting]

It was because of the high cost of living.

People couldn't get by.

We, the monks, knew it was the government's fault.

We decided to chant the Metta Sutta outside.

[singing in foreign language]

We marched to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi.

We took the authorities by surprise.

We entered the area easily

before they blocked the road.

[singing in foreign language]

We were sad to see her under house arrest,

but glad to see her.

She too had a chance to pay tribute to us.

We were able to recite the Metta Sutta.

[guns shooting]

[smoke hissing]

[people chanting in foreign language]

[muffled talking]

[speaking foreign language]

The government attacked the monasteries.

It was the first time in history

that the government attacked the monks,

even though we had marched peacefully.

We knew that outside, the Revolution had started.

We were given news by those who visited the prisoners.

We were really happy.

People told me it was happening according to the report I'd written.

They had a lot of respect for me.

A man close to power came to see me.

He asked me to write the monks a letter

to tell them to stop demonstrating.

Even if he'd promised to release me,

I'd never have written it, I'd never have accepted.

[light dramatic music]

[clapping]

My dear fellow monks,

I'm glad you came

to greet me.

Thank you for your warm welcome.

So, which do you prefer?

A yellow speech, a monk's speech,

or a bright red speech, a brave speech?

A bright red speech!

Alright.

For Theravada Buddhism,

the new Ma Soe Yein monastery

must be a rampart.

It must be an army begetting soldiers

who fight in the front line.

We monks

always open the eyes of the people.

In Burmese politics,

the monks have always led the way.

To show our greatness,

we will write a new chapter.

[muffled talking]

[speaking foreign language]

When I was released from prison,

the 969 Movement really got off the ground.

[light dramatic music]

I planned the stickers' project alone, in prison.

It took me 8 years.

Seeing these stickers, they think of the Buddha.

To me, these stickers look more like a boycott

of Muslim businesses.

The Muslims own a lot of businesses.

Big companies such as Motherland,

Naing Group, Shine Group,

control the large construction markets.

All Muslims.

This is why we give instructions

not to buy from Muslims,

because, with the money they earn,

they can marry Burmese girls and invade the whole country.

[light dramatic music]

One of the central claims of extremist monks in Myanmar

has been that the Muslim population

is expanding exponentially and growing

in all corners of the country.

And of course, the data didn't support that notion at all.

[light dramatic music]

From the British colonization to 2012,

all who have ruled our country were evil.

They didn't deal with national security.

This is why over a million Bengalis

have crossed our borders illegally.

They want to take over Rakhine.

[light dramatic music]

It broke out on June 8, 2012.

[engine rumbling] [muffled yelling]

The Muslim leader.

[horns honking]

Those Muslims just came out of the mosque.

Look, they're carrying rocks!

And picks!

A Buddhist was filming this.

He filmed from his window.

The kalars noticed him and threw rocks at him.

[glass shattering]

He kept filming all the same.

So the kalars broke the door open and went in.

Then he fled with his wife.

They set his house on fire.

I arrived later.

He gave me those videos.

[fire sizzling]

[metal clanking]

[speaking foreign language]

When we arrived, there was still smoke.

The Muslims burned eight villages in one day.

I went around to see the places where there had been fires.

I realized it was even more serious than I'd imagined.

It left me deeply affected.

Yeah, in Maungdaw township, the wave of violence

started with the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman

by Rohingya Muslims.

And then there were 10 Muslim travelers who were killed

by local Buddhists.

June 03, 2012.

June, 03 June, 2012.

There was some pilgrims from Rangoon.

They are coming there, in Toungup.

They are attacked by the mob and they're brutally killed,

bitten their heads and all 10 people are dead.

[yelling in foreign language]

The riot started from Maungdaw mosque,

but in Sittwe, the Buddhists were the ones who started it.

[fire hissing]

[kid sobbing]

[muffled talking]

These Rohingyas abandoning their homes

are the first to end up in numerous camps.

The majority are still there today.

They have been joined by another 140,000.

[singing in foreign language]

When the riots broke out, I went to film them,

then I distributed the DVDs widely.

People became aware of the situation

and that they had to protect our religion.

This is how the 969 Movement blossomed.

To President Thein Sein...

Good health!

To President Thein Sein...

Good health!

To President Thein Sein...

Good health!

To President Thein Sein...

Good health!

- May our country... - Be protected!

Let's protect our country!

[clapping]

The Buddha himself did politics for peace.

Let me be clear: the Buddhist doctrine

doesn't say that monks shouldn't do politics.

- Rohingyas... - We don't want them!

- Rohingyas... - We don't want them!

- Rohingyas... - We don't want them!

Sons and daughters of Arakan,

you must completely refrain

from buying or selling to kalars.

You must also stop all communication with kalars.

I recall sitting and talking with a young monk

in Rakhine state in 2012.

He was writing the very first pamphlet

calling upon the population to economically,

politically, socially exclude Muslims

and he told us that the Muslims posed

a threat to his culture, he told us that

the Muslims posed a threat to his country,

and that he felt as though all of the Muslims

in Rakhine state were essentially terrorists

or members of terrorist organizations.

When there are too many Muslims,

there will be trouble and jihads.

We're taking steps as of now to prevent it happening.

[chanting in foreign language]

We can live with many kinds of people,

with everybody from all over the world,

but the Muslim people from here are like animal.

They are trying to be violent,

they are trying to attack.

The first wave of violence we were documenting

how Buddhist communities throughout Rakhine state

were essentially organizing themselves,

so over several months they're having these large

town square style meetings.

In Rathedaung township

a huge number of people got together and they were essentially

setting forth a platform for ethnic cleansing.

[light dramatic music]

We call for the creation of monks militias

in the villages so as to ensure security and discipline.

We demand the sympathizers of the Bengali kalar

be considered traitors to the nation

and their identities posted in each village.

We support the request by President Utensine

asking the United Nations to take care of the Bengali

on Burmese soil until another country accepts them.

We were trying to raise alarm bells at the time.

We were trying to meet with the diplomatic community,

UN offices and others, speaking with the news media

that there would be a significant event

and that we were very concerned there'd be more violence

and sure enough in October 2012

another much more coordinated wave of violence struck.

This time it was violence in 14 of 17 townships

in Rakhine state.

[fire sizzling] [speaking foreign language]

At the Rathedaung meeting

a decision was taken to displace the Rohingya village

away from the main roads.

[speaking foreign language]

Essentially what was happening was

communities were coming in,

setting fire to Muslim homes,

and then when Muslims, Rohingya in most cases,

would attempt to put those fires out,

police and other state security forces

essentially stood by and watched it happen.

[speaking foreign language] [fire sizzling]

[muffled yelling]

The Rakhine community have all power,

all institution holding by the Rakhine people.

There's a lot of Rohingya people mowed over.

[engine rumbling]

[engine rumbling]

[yelling in foreign language] [metal clanging]

[glass shattering]

Muslims live in small houses.

When their houses burn down, they can get bigger ones.

They burn their own houses to get international help.

Oh yeah, I mean, this is, I think one of the most

profound things about people

alleging that Rohingya are burning down their own homes

is that many cases they actually believe it.

It's not just, it's not just a rhetoric

that they're pronouncing or spreading.

In many cases people are told this

and they genuinely believe it.

The second wave of violence struck,

it resulted in now more than 140,000 people

confined into more than 40 internment camps.

Before 1962, we had a voting right.

Some people from Rohingya,

there are also people elected as a parliament career.

And then we have a bunch opportunities for jobs,

our people served in the military,

served in the police department, medicine department,

the teachers and the doctors.

We were also part of the government services.

Whatever we are, first off we are human being.

It is the responsibility of the national government,

they have a responsibility to protect people's rights.

There never was a Rohingya ethnic group in history.

[light dramatic music]

The Rohingyas invented their name

to conceal their Bengali identity.

Arakan is falling apart.

Almost 200,000 Burmese refugees

have crossed the river between the two countries.

They're from the Rohingya ethnic minority,

numbering almost a million and a half inhabitants.

Things started to go awry last February,

when the Burmese launched in Arakan,

on the pretext of a citizenship check,

the Dragon Operation.

The Rohingyas soon realized they were the only target of the operation.

Is the Dragon Operation officially run?

Yes, it's officially run

by the Burmese police, army, and immigration services.

Sometimes they get help from the Mogs, the non-Muslims.

Have you seen some torture and brutalities?

Yes, I've seen a lot.

First, they raped all the women: young ladies, old ladies,

our sisters, our mothers.

My sister was raped by Burmese soldiers.

In this camp, there are so many girls who were raped.

It's like the Nazis and Hitler.

Do you know the Nazis and Hitler in Germany?

They torture Rohingyas like the Nazis did.

In the camps,

the refugees gather five times a day for prayer.

At least they can pray in peace,

since Bangladesh is the most religious State in the Muslim world.

How could one of the world's poorest countries

welcome thousands of famished people?

Bangladesh demands

that they be repatriated as fast as possible to Burma.

What will the Burmese answer be?

It will be negative,

if the refugees who claim oil was found in Arakan

told the truth.

That would explain this genocide,

beyond the religious rivalry between Buddhists and Muslims.

If the oil deposits in Kyauktaw

and Rathedaung townships

are really there and as important as claimed,

the Burmese are deporting the Muslims,

still the majority in Arakan,

to take permanent control over the region,

now strategically important to the country's economy.

That time Ziaur Rahman was president of Bangladesh

and he called up Myanmar government

to take the people back to the country.

This was, a kind of, you know,

a setback for the government because they cannot

accomplish their policy and then they told,

because those people were carrying

that national identification card

so there's the reason they had to take back those people

so and then introduce 1982 citizenship law

because they want people to be excluded from the citizensy.

What's curious about the citizenship law

is that it states that the government may decide

which races are Burmese and which aren't.

I remember a discussion with an Arakanese nationalist leader.

He told me:

"We cannot exterminate the Bengalis,"

as he called the Rohingyas.

"We cannot exterminate nor deport them.

"There are too many of them.

"But neither can we live with them."

[light dramatic music]

[speaking foreign language]

[singing in foreign language]

[water splashing]

In fact,

their mosques are not places of worship like our monasteries.

They are military bases meant to plan attacks

against non-Muslims.

I have seen through the Muslims' intent,

which is to convert the whole world to Islam.

In fact, you can see on YouTube

that when ISIS members behead a Christian,

they raise a finger,

which means: there must be only one God in the world.

[door squeaking]

The fact that Muslims

immigrate and settle in European countries

means they're invading the world.

Leaders like Merkel and her kind welcome them

without regard for the people's opinion.

In the USA,

if the people

want to maintain peace and security,

they have to choose Donald Trump.

[singing in foreign language]

Once they had spread the idea

that the Rohingyas were the enemies of the Burmese nation,

it was easy to extend that definition

to all Burmese Muslims as enemies.

[light dramatic music]

The army was quick to take up this idea

of creating an enemy.

And... surprise, surprise!

The ideas of this famous book

continued to make their way.

In Burmese, the word for race derives from a Pali word, kula.

Now kula is often associated with another word, rakhita,

meaning "protection."

The word kula rakhita becomes myo chit, "patriotism."

But what the Buddha meant

wasn't that each must protect their own race.

When the Buddha speaks of protecting the race,

it means protecting all of humanity.

[light dramatic music]

[speaking foreign language]

[muffled talking] [upbeat music]

[singing in foreign language]

Between two merchants,

a Burmese and a kalar, who should one buy from?

The Burmese one.

Between a Buddhist and a Muslim, whom should one prefer?

The Buddhist.

When I am no longer living,

around 2100,

White territory will become Black territory,

and our religion shall be dominated

by the religion of black flags.

When I arrived in Meiktila, I was told this:

a Muslim, the owner of the NLD office,

is forbidding people to hold a prayer meeting.

Let's suppose he should become a political leader,

a national leader,

or a member of Parliament...

Think about it.

This is very serious.

The more you think, the scarier it gets.

After the sermon in Meiktila, a city 30% Muslim,

pamphlets started to appear on the markets.

Addressed to the head Monk

of the town of Meiktila.

We write to inform you about Burmese Buddhists

who are living in terror.

Some kalars using Saudi Arabian money intended

for mosques are buying with incredible sums of money,

under Burmese names, land, farms, and houses

in and out of the city.

[speaking foreign language]

We are terrified when we see a large group of kalars

going to the mosque every day.

We would therefore like to appeal to the monks

for help to stop corruption.

Signed, Buddhists who feel abandoned, city of Meiktila.

[fire crackling]

Note, this letter is not intended to create riots

or political instability,

it is distributed so that the love of the nation

and the religion may live for a long time.

[speaking foreign language] [glass shattering]

[people clapping]

Move back.

Get away.

Put your club down!

Put your club down!

The riot started as a mere quarrel in a Muslim jewelry store

when a Buddhist lady came in to sell a gold bracelet.

I heard that people were ransacking the jewelry store.

So I looked for someone I knew amid the crowd.

I asked whether monks were around, I was told there were.

I spoke with a monk on the phone.

Those monks were preventing people from destroying everything.

But there was such a crowd

that nobody heard us.

Wreck everything!

Stop exciting them.

[phone ringing] [people yelling]

[speaking foreign language] [whistle blowing]

[thudding]

[metal clashing]

[people cheering]

[metal clanging]

It's pretty bad.

Let him die.

[fire roaring]

[people yelling]

[fire sizzling]

[engine rumbling]

[people cheering]

[fire sizzling]

[engine rumbling]

[horns honking]

[speaking foreign language]

[light music]

I'm asking you to cooperate

to prevent these clashes from spreading

and protect the people of Meiktila.

I hope you will all help us.

We'll get together

and create an association to protect race and religion.

It will include civil servants, monks and inhabitants.

We shall protect the life

and goods of the people of Meiktila.

[engine rumbling]

[fire sizzling]

[horns honking]

[speaking foreign language]

Did the attackers come from your neighborhood?

They did.

There were neighbors. They were Buddhists.

When we were hiding in the ditch,

they came over, they were shouting slogans.

"We are the masters, we the Burmese,

"let's wipe out the Muslims."

They had clubs and swords

and were cutting everyone who was in their way.

There are no Muslims left in Meiktila?

No.

[fire sizzling]

[light dramatic music]

[fire sizzling]

[water sloshing] [speaking foreign language]

[dramatic music]

What we're doing has nothing to do with W.

We don't say the same thing, we don't act like him.

The Buddha says one must observe and analyze the word.

He says one shouldn't always believe his sermons.

Not because he gave them should one believe in them.

Not because he is the Master should one believe him,

but on the contrary,

one should experience his words before accepting them.

[light dramatic music]

A few months after Meiktila

and the string of riots that followed,

the State Sangha, the council of 52 monks,

voted to ban the 969 Movement

and the use of the Buddhist flag

as a background for its symbol.

Immediately, Wirathu set up a new organization,

Ma Ba Tha,

an association for race and religion.

Without an organization,

a worked-up crowd can get out of control.

Things can get explosive.

Ma Ba Tha intervenes when kalars harass Buddhists.

Once the problem's solved and the kalars punished,

the crowd will calm down.

That's the role of Ma Ba Tha.

969 had no structure, it was just a movement.

There were no appointed leaders, no regulations,

while Ma Ba Tha is a well-structured organization with leaders,

central committees,

regional committees.

Ten monks,

some of them monk-counsellors,

and 15 lay people, work here.

Some film the events,

some distribute the DVDs.

We don't market our video reports.

Regarding videos about jihad,

we believe that everybody should be informed.

So we offer the DVDs.

[dramatic music]

The video's title is The Black Days.

[phone beeping]

One of my pupils directed it.

We reenacted

and filmed the life of that Rakhine girl

before she was murdered.

It was shot exactly

according to the confessions of the three Muslim murderers.

[upbeat music] [singing in foreign language]

They raped her,

they slit her throat,

then they cut her ears off to take her earrings and jewels.

[man chuckles]

We haven't released The Black Days yet.

We are completing the editing and subtitling.

English subtitles.

Master Wirathu owns the rights.

[broom scratching]

[light dramatic music]

And so here we are in the media

and communication headquarters of the venerable.

His different websites are updated daily

by Wirathu himself.

On social networks,

Wirathu has millions of followers.

People post news about him,

real or fake.

[light dramatic music]

These pictures are for fun.

That's no problem.

As for fake news on blogs,

that is a problem,

because people in the country really believe in them and may react.

[mouse clicking]

The rape of Mi Sho Soo on the 28th of June 2014

by the bosses of Cafeson is not only

a criminal offense, but it is also intended

to spark violence in our country.

Nobody checked this information.

It was false.

Too late.

[people yelling]

The violence began almost immediately the next day.

No organization, no NGO,

has been able to intervene to stop them.

Security forces didn't dare to take action.

They stood idly by.

We went there to control the situation.

The 200 of us stayed for two nights, protecting people.

All of you, calm down. Be peaceful.

I don't know what happened.

I accept what you're saying.

But we have to be sure.

This is our home.

They show up and insult us.

There were no big problems.

It happened downtown.

Still, it left one dead on each side.

Whenever there are clashes,

we're trying to prevent them from spreading.

We go to the mosques to talk.

According to Buddhism, we should go the gentle way.

The moment there is violence, Buddhism is destroyed.

[engine rumbling]

[upbeat music]

[singing in foreign language]

Wirathu was giving many speeches

to get the Race and Religion Protection Laws passed.

This huge display of means

shows that a lot of money was spent.

Where did it come from? Nobody knows.

Probably from the cronies,

a group of millionaires

who maneuver around military circles to get contracts, etc.

[light music]

Because of their trickery, innocent girls get in trouble.

- Don't they? - They do.

When these laws are enforced,

Muslims won't be able to claim they're Burmese and take our girls.

We managed to get these laws passed.

If a Muslim wants to marry a Buddhist woman,

he mustn't convert her to Islam. If he does, he goes to jail.

Also, for a Muslim, one wife only.

No polygamy.

Or he goes to jail.

For Muslims, not many children.

One every three years, no more.

We got these laws passed.

Now we feel relieved for the future of our country.

[upbeat music]

[cameras clicking] [muffled talking]

These bills could be viewed as one of the indicators

of backtracking in the political reform process.

Are the UN entitled to control our country's authority?

Yes or no?

No!

We are the ones who create our country's destiny.

Yes!

We're not giving that power to the kalars.

No!

Nor to the Chinese.

No!

To the British?

No!

To the Americans?

No!

- Are we accepting this situation? - No!

Without having studied anything,

that wretched woman claims we don't respect human rights.

Is she honest?

No!

You think you're important?

In our country, you're just a whore.

You can sell your ass to the kalars,

but you won't sell off our Arakan.

After such a speech, we, the other Buddhists,

could have set in motion a trial against Wirathu

and jailed him for inciting hatred.

But before that, Ma Ba Tha had to be silenced.

This was done.

On the 31st of August 2016 in the capital

we began negotiations with the leaders

of all ethnic insurgencies to obtain a stable peace.

This is a unique opportunity

to achieve a historic project.

[people clapping]

Let's hope that the military, with whom she's sharing power,

are still with us.

Too late.

On the 8th of October 2016,

the Rohingyas finally declared an insurgency.

There is nothing to stop the military

from doing what they have always done.

[people screaming] [booming]

[muffled talking]

[smacking]

And the army's 1978 Operation Dragon

is repeating itself.

This time, having repercussions outside our borders.

[speaking foreign language]

[people cheering]

Hatred will never put an end to hatred,

only love can do that.

This is the ancient and eternal law.

[light music]