concern. The situation in Myanmar has recently caught the attention of the United Nations (UN). The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently expressed his concerns: The continuous resort to hate speech, the incitement of communal animosities and the abuse of religion for political purposes resorted to by extreme elements among the majority community in Myanmar.77 It cannot be denied that religious hate speech has been used for political gain in Myanmar. The association to Protect Race and Religion, otherwise known as Ma Ba Tha (another actor discussed in chapter one’s conflict assessment) have been running a nationalist campaign which justifies itself by claiming that the country's Buddhist identity is under threat from Islam. Hate speech was similarly used in the presidential elections for the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006, which contributed to a polarization of the country and gave the campaign an ethnic underpinning.78 Additionally, the use of religion requires attention, as it is through promotion of Buddhism that anti-Muslim rhetoric justifies itself, as will be discussed shortly. Firstly, let us situate Myanmar within the context of social media. Taking a step forward from the oppression of the military regime, citizens of Myanmar are now able to express themselves with a newfound freedom of speech through online platforms. The reforms of 2011 saw authorities relax their restrictions to access foreign websites like the BBC, the Democratic Voice of Burma, Radio Free Asia, Facebook and YouTube.79 As participants of both focus groups noted, Facebook is the primary online platform used by young people across the country. The use of Facebook is aiding the growth of anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar, led by a small but increasingly influential movement of hard-line Buddhist nationalist monks. Wirathu, one of the actors discussed in the conflict assessment of chapter one, is the most prominent of 77 (2015) ‘UN chief hits out at Myanmar election “hate speech”’, The Nation, available at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/UN-chief-hits-out-at-Myanmar-election-hatespeech-30272128.html [November 2015]. 78 Vollhardt, Coutin, Staub, Weiss and Deflander, (2006) p.15. 79 Buncombe, A., (2011), ‘Burmese Junta Relaces Access to Foreign Websites’, The Independent, available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmese-junta-relaxes-access-toforeign-websites-2356125.html [November 2015]. - 38 -