It took several months for Aung San Suu Kyi to finally break her silence on the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in her country which has been branded “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the United Nations, and that too after intense international pressure which would have given sleepless nights to any ordinary government. So it was with a modicum of optimism that the world awaited her speech, with an expectation that she would finally wake up to the global calls for action. But her speech yesterday came as a complete disappointment, which the Amnesty International denounced as a “mix of untruths and victim-blaming”.
Suu Kyi showed with a shameless audacity and disdain that she doesn’t care about the international outcry and that she neither has a strategy nor the intention to stop this ethnic cleansing and bring justice to a community which has been persecuted for years. “I’m aware of the fact that the world’s attention is focused on the situation in Rakhine state. As a responsible member of the community of nations Myanmar does not fear international scrutiny,” she said in her first public address since a bloody military crackdown on the Rohingya. At the same time, she had some words to please the international community.
She said her government was ready to start the verification process to bring back any refugees who wish to return to Myanmar from Bangladesh after fleeing recent violence.
Suu Kyi refrained from criticising the army which has been accused of arson and ruthless killing, and only said it had been instructed to exercise restraint and avoid “collateral damage” in its pursuit of what she called ‘insurgents’.
She tried to justify the ethnic cleansing by saying that “there have been allegations and counter-allegations” and made it clear she has no intention of punishing the guilty by adding, “we have to make sure those allegations are based on solid evidence before we take action.” In other words, she was in a state of denial. Suu Kyi’s reputation will sink further after the speech and all that her critics have said has been proven true.
However, Suu Kyi’s speech has brought clarity to her policy and will help the international community to plan its next course of action on the Rohingya issue. The speech also makes it clear that Suu Kyi is powerless before the army and she will not do anything that will antagonise the domestic audience, where the feelings against the Rohingya are very strong.
It’s now time for the world to act against Myanmar to stop the ethnic cleansing. The UN must impose sanctions on the country. Britain yesterday said it was suspending training courses for the Myanmar military due to the ethnic violence in Rakhine state. Other countries too must follow suit.
