The moment thousands of Rohingya people from Myanmar were suffering floating in boats on the Southeast Asian seas, the leader of democracy and Nobel Peace laureate remains silent.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s opposition leader, is now being criticised by the global media for she ignored the inhuman sufferings of the people of her country that gripped the world conscience.
“Voices of anger were raised; something had to be done to end the suffering, to help those men, women and children in need,” wrote the Guardian.
But, the newspaper pointed out, what has surprised some is the silence of the Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. “After all, these are the poverty-stricken and disenfranchised refugees from her own country who are now the focus of greater attention than ever before.”
The newspaper wrote, “The contrast could not be more striking: how could such an iconic figure of human rights be so reticent when it comes to defending an ethnic minority from her own country?”
The Nation newspaper, in an article titled “Myanmar’s Lady remains silent on plight of Rohingya”, said as the migrant crisis in the bay of Bengal worsens, any kind of engagement by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been conspicuously absent.
“Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence is conspicuous in this period because the international spotlight is fully shone the plight of the Rohinyas,” the report quoted Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute for Security and International Studies in Bangkok, as saying.
When asked about the treatment of Rohingya since her release in 2010, Suu Kyi has skirted the issue, instead referring to the need to respect “the rule of law”, and saying Rohingya are not the only group to suffer prejudice, the newspaper mentioned.
The Independent newspaper wrote, Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence on the genocide of Rohingya Muslims is tantamount to complicity
“The Burmese government’s ongoing persecution of the Rohingya has, in the last two years, reached a level so untenable that the Rohingya are faced with only two options, to remain and risk annihilation or flee. The current exodus of those seeking asylum is just one manifestation of genocide,” said the Independent.
Source: Prothom Alo
