The 32 year old blogger is now one of the few people in Burma to speak out against Islamophobia, as anti-Muslim sentiment is becoming increasingly prevalent and open following the violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims which broke out two months ago in the north west of the country.

Nay Phone Latt has published an article on his blog warning of “genocide” of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority that is not officially recognized by Burma as one if its ethnic groups.

The activist’s stance has had a negative impact on his popularity; just a few months ago he was a poster boy for online resistance to the former junta. He has been severely criticized on his Facebook page, with web users reproaching him for supporting the Rohingya, seen by most Burmese people as illegal immigrants.

The UN describes Burma’s Rohingya community as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, and as the NGO Human Rights Watch explains in this video, thousands have tried to flee the violence and seek refuge in Bangladesh in recent months, but since 2010 they have been denied entry.

Nay Phone Latt had been sentenced to twenty years in prison by the Burmese military junta for his links to the “Saffron Revolution” Buddhist monk led protests back in 2007. He was freed, along with hundreds of others at the beginning of the year, as part of a political prisoner amnesty decreed by the government which has recently undertaken a series of reforms.

2012.08.20 France24 Burmese blogger Nay Phone Latt speaks out against Islamophobia