A/HRC/39/CRP.2 1314. An in-depth content analysis of these and similar messages shows that they are all linked to the core theme of a “Muslim threat” endangering the Buddhist character of the nation. Underlying this theme are multiple narratives, including of Muslims/Rohingya as an existential threat to the country, of Muslims/Rohingya as a threat to Burmese racial purity, and of Islam as a threat to Buddhist religious sanctity and its status in Myanmar. 2905 Such narratives latch onto long-standing anti-Muslim prejudices and stereotypes; they are designed to stoke fear. 1315. First, Muslims, and Rohingya in particular, are represented as an existential threat to the country. Messages under this narrative revolve around mass illegal immigration and an invasion of the country (for example, “Bengali illegal immigrants”, “illegal Bengali”, “they will swallow us”, “they sneak into the country”, “boat people”, “need to protect the Western Gate against a Muslim invasion”, “they want to take away northern Rakhine as their independent state”), terrorism (for example, “Bengali extremist terrorists”, “jihadists”) and insecurity (for example, “criminals and rapists”). Such messages are frequently accompanied by news stories and graphic imagery pertaining to crimes committed by foreign terrorist groups such as ISIS, drawing also from pro-Rohingya statements made by such groups. The overall narrative is that Myanmar “ethnic” people should not tolerate mass illegal Muslim immigration, because “Bengali immigrants” or “terrorists” will violently alter the Buddhist character of the country and cause its demise. This is often made explicit with references to Afghanistan or Indonesia, underscoring how these countries were once Buddhist and are now majority Muslim. The following examples are illustrative: • Thaki Thway, a MaBaTha’s periodical, No 22 Issue 3, published on 6 May 2016, carried an article with a picture of Win Ko Ko Latt 2906 and others in an anti-Rohingya protest. Entitled “Let’s oppose the Bengali trying to be Rohingya”, the article stated that “the Bengali issue has been challenging successive governments and is growing bigger as a result. The Bengali are posing as refugees in the eyes of the world, while trying to create an independent Islamic state within Myanmar”. 2907 The author went on to describe the connection between the Rohingya and other Islamic terrorist groups, such as ISIS, and how they have been trying to take over parts of other south-east Asian countries. • Another MaBaTha magazine, Aung Zeyathu, No 149, published on 18 November 2016, featured an article entitled “the Myanmar race can go extinct due to the 2905 2906 2907 326 See also C4ADS, Sticks and Stones - Hate Speech Narratives and Facilitators in Myanmar, February 2016. Win Ko Ko Latt is the chairman of Myanmar National Network, a nationalist organization closely related to MaBaTha. In 2017, he was arrested along with the monk Parmaukkha for their protest in front of the United States Embassy (in a protest against the use of the word “Rohingya”). Photo available here: https://www.facebook.com/1448332835475983/photos/a.1449306808711919. 1073741829.1448332835475983/1535200873455845/?type=3&theater (accessed July 2018).