Military Leader Min Aung Hlaing Employs Hate Speech, Using Racial Slur “Kalar Soe Insurgents”
January 21 | Burma Independent Voice
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing, currently facing genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has employed the derogatory and discriminatory term “Kalar Soe Insurgents” (Evil Kalar Insurgents) in the military council’s propaganda newspapers.
The military leader used this hate speech during a meeting with military officers and their families at the Central Eastern Command in Southern Shan State on January 20. He claimed that the military, while defending the country against foreign threats, had to suppress the Chinese Kuomintang invasions as well as “Kalar Soe Insurgents.”
Despite the military junta being under intense international scrutiny at the ICJ for genocide, their propaganda media outlets continue to consistently utilize such discriminatory racial slurs. Furthermore, it is reported that extremist nationalist groups (Ma Ba Tha), which are backed by the military, are making preparations to show support for the military council’s delegation currently facing the trial at the ICJ.
In 2020, under the NLD government, directives were issued to prohibit and condemn hate speech to prevent outbreaks of violence. However, the coup leader appears to be reverting to ingrained methods of stanning racial hatred to sow public division, attempting to obscure his failing military and political situation.
