Did the World Get Aung San Suu Kyi Wrong?
- 6 years ago
Did the World Get Aung San Suu Kyi Wrong?
When Myanmar elected Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s party to power in 2015, she was widely portrayed as a sort of political
saint, an icon who had endured great suffering to guide her people from dictatorship to democracy.
Today Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, is the target of worldwide criticism for standing by
as her country’s military wages a campaign of murder, rape and torture against the Rohingya minority group.
In a 2013 interview with the BBC, for instance, she brusquely dismissed questions about rising violence against the Rohingya, saying
that Buddhists had also been displaced from their homes and that there was fear “on both sides.” Asked why the violence had overwhelmingly affected Muslims, she deflected, saying that Buddhists lived in fear of “global Muslim power.”
Though such episodes mounted during her rise, they conflicted with Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s saintly image, and so went largely unnoticed.
“But that’s very different from accepting the whole panoply of liberal values,
especially when it comes to issues of race, ethnicity or gender equality.”
It is worth asking how much of the Western anger now directed at Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, including calls to revoke her Nobel Peace
Prize, is partly buyers’ remorse from supporters who regret their own role in transforming her into such a powerful symbol
As international plaudits for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi continued to mount, some in Myanmar saw growing signs
that she was consolidating power and suppressing critics.
When Myanmar elected Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s party to power in 2015, she was widely portrayed as a sort of political
saint, an icon who had endured great suffering to guide her people from dictatorship to democracy.
Today Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, is the target of worldwide criticism for standing by
as her country’s military wages a campaign of murder, rape and torture against the Rohingya minority group.
In a 2013 interview with the BBC, for instance, she brusquely dismissed questions about rising violence against the Rohingya, saying
that Buddhists had also been displaced from their homes and that there was fear “on both sides.” Asked why the violence had overwhelmingly affected Muslims, she deflected, saying that Buddhists lived in fear of “global Muslim power.”
Though such episodes mounted during her rise, they conflicted with Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s saintly image, and so went largely unnoticed.
“But that’s very different from accepting the whole panoply of liberal values,
especially when it comes to issues of race, ethnicity or gender equality.”
It is worth asking how much of the Western anger now directed at Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, including calls to revoke her Nobel Peace
Prize, is partly buyers’ remorse from supporters who regret their own role in transforming her into such a powerful symbol
As international plaudits for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi continued to mount, some in Myanmar saw growing signs
that she was consolidating power and suppressing critics.