''Firebrand nationalist monk U Wirathu held a groundbreaking ceremony for a school building on Saturday morning in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, despite the regional government’s refusal to give permission for the project. The monk who is infamous for his racial and religious hate speeches said he applied to the regional government for permission to build a permanent school in June 2017, but the regional government has yet to reply. There are over 150 students attending tenth and eleventh grades at the school, and the monk wishes to build a four-story school building to replace the current makeshift classrooms.Mandalay Region Chief Minister] U Zaw Myint Maung makes a black-and-white decision. If [the planned school] is against the law, he should make an official announcement by stating clearly which law it violates,” said U Wirathu, who is a staunch opponent of the ruling National League for Democracy. “If it is in line with the law, he should announce officially when exactly it would be allowed, and how long we have to wait,” said the monk, calling the ban an “authoritarian act and abuse of power.” U Wirathu, Buddhist monks, and members of the committee to establish the school named “Mahawthada National Private High School” attended the groundbreaking ceremony. The school will be built on an 8-acre plot of land in the village of Kyauk Chaw in Patheingyi Township...''