969 goes online – in California
By Kayleigh Long | Thursday, 11 July 2013The creator of a new "969" website and Twitter account has no official connection to leaders of the Buddhist-nationalist movement – and has never even visited Myanmar.
On Thursday, July 11, the website appeared to be taken down by a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. The @969movement Twitter account, still active, confirmed this: "website being DDOS. cool story bro".
The pro-969 rhetoric of the newly-created website and Twitter account has quickly prompted an avalanche of feedback. On Facebook, prominent democracy activist Maung Zarni decried the new site: "#Myanmar's State-incubated 969, #Nazi "Buddhist" movement, hits #twitter and #blog. Bama #Buddhists look #fascists".
One journalist took a screenshot of a Twitter post that appeared to be trying to solicit help from Britain's far-right, anti-Islamic English Defence League. Another journalist quoted the site in a tweet: "'We're Buddhists in a Buddhist country.' A new website defends the anti-Muslim 969 movement."
What they all neglected to notice is the website's clear disclaimer in its "about" section that says it had no direct affiliation with 969 leaders at present.
The site's administrator, who would not to reveal their identity because of safety concerns, told The Myanmar Times he – or she – lives in California.
The webmaster said the initial reason for starting the site was to combat what they perceived as the misrepresentation of Buddhism in the Western media and, in particular, the unfair portrayal of the "969" movement.
"At first I was upset with the treatment Buddhists received from the Time magazine article on Venerable Wirathu," the administrator said. "But then I saw a pattern of lies in the media that became too much to let go unanswered."
While the site currently has no connection to the 969 movement's official representatives in Myanmar, the creator hopes they will see the site and eventually take the administrative reins.
"I have sent emails to Ven Wirathu and other 969 supporters in Myanmar but I have not gotten much response yet … From their Facebook I can tell they are very busy and … they may not speak English so for now the website is completely unofficial," the webmaster said.
"I hope to go to Myanmar soon and get the website officially supported."
The site's creator is thinking big, hoping the 969 movement will catch on globally.
"To help create more legitimacy for this effort I am creating a non-profit organisation in the United States that can properly raise funds and hopefully hire staff to help coordinate a global 969 movement."
The site's administrator expressed some doubt over U Wirathu's conviction for inciting anti-Muslim violence. The controversial monk was released in a January 2012 prisoner amnesty.
"Not even in countries with the most repressive anti-hate speech laws in the world, Germany and the UK, do they sentence someone to 10 years in prison for hate speech, so I hope to one day get the real story from Wirathu himself.
"I am certain that Wirathu will be vindicated in time with a more peaceful and harmonious country than what preceded it but every day I am in fear for his safety."
The administrator expressed deep disappointment with media coverage of recent mob violence, which they said often pointed to some sort of incitement.
"I was seeing alot of dubious claims made throughout Western media publications … I am also certain it is not 100 percent entirely the fault of the Buddhist community."
The person also said that they had encountered some difficulties finding information about Myanmar in English and conceded they had a limited understanding of the issues. However, they said they remain optimistic about the 969 movement's potential.
"I am not from there and I do not know what the situation is like. Of course from the little I do know it is a very regrettable situation but I do not think it is proper for me as an outsider to speak about what possible solutions are. However I am comfortable discussing Buddhist activism and it is my hope that the 969 movement can be a model for cultivating a stronger Buddhism throughout the world."
The site's administrator said they believe U Wirathu has been the victim of a smear campaign and drew comparisons to other controversial figures who have graced the cover of Time.
"Unfortunately Westerners believe everything they read in the media with no critical thought. People who read Time magazine think, 'By golly, this Wirathu is just like Hitler.' Because they don't know the history of Hitler or Myanmar, they will be ignorant of the fact that Time magazine makes glowing endorsement of bad people all the time, such as Hitler in 1938 as the 'Man of the Year', just like … Obama in 2012. Unlike both of them, Wirathu has no actual human rights violations to his
name."
A more fitting comparison, the administrator suggested, might be Mahatma Gandhi.
"If there is any recent historical figure that Wirathu could be compared to it would be Gandhi. Gandhi preached non-violence, civil disobedience, economic warfare through boycotting, and he had issues with Islam, just like Wirathu."
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