A prominent pro-junta monk in Myanmar has brushed aside accusations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that one of his sermons legitimised violence against the Rohingya minority.

Sitagu Sayadaw, the 89-year-old head of the Shwe Kyin Buddhist sect, told followers in Mandalay this week that there was “no case” against him, insisting the lawsuit at The Hague did not implicate him personally. He described the controversy around his sermon as “a bit of hullaballoo” and “not a problem”.

The Gambia’s legal team has cited the sermon as evidence in its genocide case against Myanmar, arguing that religious figures helped justify the military’s brutal crackdown in Rakhine State in 2017. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh at the time, reporting widespread killings, rape and arson.

The sermon, delivered to army officers during the height of the violence, drew on passages from the Mahavamsa, an ancient Sri Lankan chronicle. In it, non-Buddhists were described as “unbelievers” who “do not know good or bad, which is the nature of animals”.

Gambia’s lawyers told the court the message was clear: it was not a sin to kill Rohingya because they were not Buddhists.

Sitagu’s close ties to Myanmar’s military leadership have long been noted. A former head of the hardline Ma Ba Tha movement, he has praised coup leader Min Aung Hlaing as a “king” and accompanied him to Russia in 2022 to consecrate a replica pagoda. His silence during the army’s deadly crackdown on anti-coup protesters in 2021 drew criticism even from supporters.

The ICJ hearings, now in their third round since Gambia filed the case in 2019, continue to examine whether Myanmar’s military committed genocide. For many observers, Sitagu’s sermon remains a stark example of how religious authority was used to provide moral cover for violence.

-2026-01-31

Similar to Thailand's Kittivuddho Bhikkhu in the 1970s, famous for saying: "Killing Communists is Not a Sin, because because they were not "complete persons," but rather "beasts" or "devils" (Māra).

"Pro junta monk"

This say it all!