By Antoni Slodkowski | Reuters
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, 19 September 2017
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemned on Tuesday human rights violations in Rakhine state and said violators would be brought to book, but she did not address UN accusations of a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the military.
The Nobel Peace laureate’s remarks came in her first address to the nation since attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on 25 August sparked a military response that has forced 421,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighboring Bangladesh.
Western diplomats and aid officials, hoping for an unequivocal condemnation of violence and hate speech, welcomed the tone of Suu Kyi’s message, but some doubted if she had done enough to deflect global criticism.
Human rights group Amnesty International described her speech as “little more than a mix of untruths and victim-blaming”, saying she and her government were “burying their heads in the sand” for ignoring the army’s role in the violence.
“We condemn all human rights violations and unlawful violence. We are committed to the restoration of peace and stability and rule of law throughout the state,” Suu Kyi said in her address in the capital, Naypyitaw.
“Action will be taken against all people, regardless of their religion, race and political position, who go against the law of the land and violate human rights,” she said.
Long feted in the West as a champion of democracy in the Buddhist-majority country during years of military rule and house arrest, Suu Kyi has faced growing criticism for saying little about abuses faced by the Rohingya.
The United States urged Myanmar on Monday to end military operations, grant humanitarian access, and commit to aiding the safe return of civilians to their homes.
Myanmar’s generals remain in full charge of security and Suu Kyi did not comment on the military or its operation, except to say there had been “no armed clashes and there have been no clearance operations” since 5 September.
Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh have told of soldiers and Buddhist civilians attacking and burning villages as recently as last Friday. It was not possible to verify their accounts.
Burning villages
Rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say the army and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes have mounted a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population. The UN rights agency said it was “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Myanmar rejects that, saying its forces are tackling insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which has claimed responsibility for attacks since October. The government has declared it a terrorist group and accused it of setting the fires and attacking civilians.
Western governments that backed Suu Kyi’s campaign against military rule still see her as the best hope for Myanmar’s political and economic transition.
But she has to avoid angering the powerful army.
She also has to avoid alienating her supporters by being seen to take the side of a Muslim minority that enjoys little sympathy in a country that has seen a surge of Buddhist nationalism.
In India if you go out into remote villages you meet friendly and hospital people. In the USA if you go to remote areas, especially in the Southwest, you will meet xenophobic and violent people and cops.
Due to strong courts and checks and balances in government and a free press there are not many communal violences.
One of the people trying to bring democratic rule and human rights in Burma is Aung San Suu Kyi but too many self-righteous people are trying to bring her down and return Myanmar to the rule of the generals.
One of people fighting against Burmese Buddhists is Ataullah born in Pakisthan and raised in Saudi Arabia and the petrol dollars help to spread Harakah al-Yaqin cause.
When people believe in Good and Evil, and that their God hates Satan and infidels and will reward Muslims who kill their enemies like the Burmese Buddhists, then the question is who and which god is promoting ethnic cleansing?
“UN accusations of a campaign of ethnic cleansing…”
Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein who made the accusation should have remembered that his country in 1970, conducted a genocide of Palestinians staying as refugees in Jordan. It is known as Black September. And China should have been terminated from UN after Tiananmen Square massacre. The global liberal arrogance that their virtue signaling should trump Myanmar’s slow and painful road to democratization is astounding. Amazing how the ruling elites pick their issues to obsess on, while ignoring the really big issues.
One of the most befuddling aspects of the Western govt. and international organizations is their habit of ignoring, denying, or tolerating atrocities done by China and Islamists in the name of Islam. They dare not take on China and Saudi Arabia. Too much to lose there.
There are 100,000 empty air conditioned tents in Mina, Saudi Arabia which can house 3 million people. How many Rohingya has it accepted? None. Of course standing up to poor Myanmar is safer than standing up to the rich Islamic countries that fuel Jihad all around the globe and Chinese imperialism that have occupied nations like Tibet and oppress the natives there and continue their expansionist strategy.