An eyewitness said that Buddhist monks came from almost every monastery in Sittwe and marched to the Bangladesh Consulate located in Anuk San Pya ward shouting, “OIC unwanted in Arakan State, unwanted in Burma,” throughout the protest.

“The demonstration started at 2:30pm in front of the consulate. There were over 1,000 monks participating. The security forces closed off the street during the demonstration, not allowing any laypeople to join the monks,” said the witness.

U Pinnyazawta, one of the leading monks taking part in the demonstration, told Narinjara that thousands of local citizens joined them later and that their demonstration eventually resembled a mass-movement.

“We started our demonstration with around 1,000 monks. I think there could have been a hundred thousand people who later joined our demonstration. The whole street outside the consulate was filled with people. It was a peaceful demonstration and we voiced our desires during the demonstration,” said U Pinnyazawta.

The monk said that five demands were made during the demonstrations, asking that the OIC not be permitted to open offices in Sittwe, that the OIC not be allowed to open an office in Yangon, that Muslim families from Aung Mingalar Ward be relocated to the outskirts of Sittwe to peacefully co-existence with Arakanese, for the Bangladesh government to protect the minority Buddhist community in Bangladesh, and for people to support the President’s decision regarding immigrant Bengalis.

Addressing the objection to OIC offices, the monk said, “The OIC is a foreign organization established by Islamic countries and they have nothing to do with our country. We don’t want the OIC to interfere in our home affairs by opening its offices in our country. So, we are protesting against it.”

Local participants in the demonstration are thought to have supported the monks’ call against the OIC.

The monk said that the demonstration concluded at 4pm without any interference by authorities as it was conducted with legal permission.