Amnesty International strips Myanmar's Suu Kyi of 'conscience' award

[webfact]

Amnesty International strips Myanmar's Suu Kyi of 'conscience' award

By Simon Lewis

 

Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Singapore, November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

YANGON (Reuters) - Amnesty International has withdrawn its most prestigious human rights prize from Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing the Myanmar leader of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

 

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, Suu Kyi has been stripped of a series of international honours over a Rohingya exodus that began in August 2017.

 

More than 700,000 members of the mostly stateless group fled across Myanmar's western border into Bangladesh after the Myanmar military launched a crackdown in response to Rohingya insurgent attacks on the security forces.

 

U.N.-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with "genocidal intent".

 

Suu Kyi's administration rejected the findings as one-sided, and said the military action was engaged in a legitimate counterinsurgency operation.

 

The international human rights group named Suu Kyi as its 2009 Ambassador of Conscience Award recipient when she was still under house arrest for her opposition to Myanmar's oppressive military junta.

 

In the eight years since she was released, Suu Kyi led her party to election victory in 2015 and set up a government the following year, but she has to share power with generals and has no oversight over the security forces.

 

Amnesty International said in a statement on Tuesday she had failed to speak out and had "shielded the security forces from accountability" for the violence against the Rohingya, calling it a "shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for".

 

The global advocacy organisation's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, wrote to Suu Kyi on Sunday saying the group was withdrawing the award because it was "profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights".

 

Zaw Htay, the Myanmar government's main spokesman, did not pick up Reuters calls seeking comment on Monday.

 

In March, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum rescinded its top award from Suu Kyi and she has had other honours withdrawn, including the freedom of the cities of Dublin and Oxford, England, over the Rohingya crisis.

 

In September, Canada's parliament voted to strip Suu Kyi of her honorary citizenship.

 

Critics have called for her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to be withdrawn but the foundation that oversees the award said it would not do so.

 

Amnesty International also said Suu Kyi had not condemned military abuses in conflicts between the army and ethnic minority guerrillas in northern Myanmar and her government had imposed restrictions on access by humanitarian groups.

 

Her government had also failed to stop attacks on freedom of speech, it said.

 

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-13

[kotsak]

As I said in another thread, looks like her house arrest days were her best.

 

[colinneil]

Many people looked up to her, she promised so much, but has done nothing.

For years people pinned their hopes on her, she has let them down, sad so sad.

[blazes]

where did the Rohingya guerrillas get their arms from?

[ezzra]

Power corrupt they say.. what they have done to the Rohingya people under her watch and while the good for nothing UN says and does nothing she deservs worse than just strippinh er of some medal...

Edited November 13, 2018 by ezzra

[Spidey]

8 minutes ago, blazes said:

where did the Rohingya guerrillas get their arms from?

Not from her, that's for sure! Refuses even to say the word "Rohingya". Nobel Peace Prize Committee did themselves no favours by refusing to strip her of the Nobel Peace Prize.

[NextStationBangkok]

Sorry Sir, i have no powers. -  Suu Kyi

 

The issue is every Burmese liked the army's ethnic cleansing operation on Rohingya. She could not go against the people's wish, that is the problem.

[Spidey]

32 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Many people looked up to her, she promised so much, but has done nothing.

For years people pinned their hopes on her, she has let them down, sad so sad.

I never did. As she languished in her very nice house in Myamar, her husband was left at home, in London, to bring up their 2 sons. With the news that her husband was dying, the Myamar government offered her the opportunity to visit him but she refused the offer. Probably too busy taking photo opportunities with a string of World celebrities who visited her at her home. Always was a self serving bitch.

 

For me family comes before self, not the same for her.

 

What has she done for the people of Myamar? The military is still in control whilst she basks in the glory of being their puppet.

[blazes]

36 minutes ago, blazes said:

where did the Rohingya guerrillas get their arms from?

 

Ok, let's be more direct before everyone starts on a global version of #metooism.

The Reuters' article states quite clearly that the Rohingya attacked Burmese forces.  (I confess I know very little about this political situation, but let's not forget that the 'First Casualty' in any war is the Truth)....so, does anyone on this thread have the information regarding who did what to whom and when and how and so on????

[Spidey]

7 minutes ago, NextStationBangkok said:

Sorry Sir, i have no powers. -  Suu Kyi

 

The issue is every Burmese liked the army's ethnic cleansing operation on Rohingya. She could not go against the people's wish, that is the problem.

Couldn't be further from the truth. As a national icon she had the ability to change the people's views on the Rohingya. Made no attempt to. Refuses even to say the word "Rohingya". She's four square behind the slaughter.

[fullcave]

Typical Politician. Follow the money.

[Johnnyngai]

She is only a puppet; the military still has the real power.  

If she say "help the Rohingyas",  she would instantly loses the popular support from the ordinary Myanmar citizens.  

She might not even able to maintain her position as a puppet.  

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, blazes said:

where did the Rohingya guerrillas get their arms from?

Both arms and legs came from birth.

That's their crime.

 

[rudi49jr]

5 hours ago, blazes said:

 

Ok, let's be more direct before everyone starts on a global version of #metooism.

The Reuters' article states quite clearly that the Rohingya attacked Burmese forces.  (I confess I know very little about this political situation, but let's not forget that the 'First Casualty' in any war is the Truth)....so, does anyone on this thread have the information regarding who did what to whom and when and how and so on????

Do your own research, mate, it's quite easy to find out what went on in Myanmar. But even if the Rohingya fired the first shot, that doesn't justify razing whole village, killing thousands of innocent men, women and children, raping thousands of women and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. The Myanmar army behaved like animals, probably committed genocide and Suu Kyi didn't condemn all that violence even once.

And the thing is that the Myanmar army are doing practically the same thing in Shan State up north, and have been doing it for years, and Suu Kyi, like the rest of the world, is silent about that as well.