Wirathu spoke at a rally where he criticised the UN and personally attacked the UN envoy

The UN human rights chief has called on Myanmar to condemn a Buddhist nationalist monk for calling a UN special envoy a “bitch” and a “whore”.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Ashin Wirathu’s comments amounted to “incitement to hatred”.

The comments related to South Korean envoy Yanghee Lee, who was in Myanmar last week to address the plight of its Muslim minority.

Wirathu spent almost a decade in jail for inciting anti-Muslim violence.

The monk is a leader of the 969 movement, which says Myanmar should remain a Buddhist country and calls for restrictions and boycotts on Muslims.

Mr Zeid called the language “sexist” and “insulting”.

“I call on religious and political leaders in Myanmar to unequivocally condemn all forms of incitement to hatred including this abhorrent public personal attack,” Mr Zeid said in a statement.

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