Aung San Suu Kyi received her Nobel Prize in 1991 for her “non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.” No one at the time, other than some in Myanmar, would have disagreed with that. It was also a welcome achievement when she became the head of state in 2015. There was hope that someone, like her who had suffered so much, showed such determination to fight for freedom, would be a champion to improve the human rights in Myanmar. In her Nobel lecture, Aung San remarked: “Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages.”
The treatment of the Rohingya people has been nothing short of genocide; according to a recent UN report. What makes it more shocking is that Aung San has been the state leader during these killing sprees. I understand that her power is limited because the Generals still retain substantial influence in the country but she still has legal recourse, and more importantly she has a powerful voice in the nation that could oppose these atrocities. Unfortunately, some of her recent comments have been supportive if not misleading for example saying that ‘terrorists’ are misinforming the world about what is happening in Myanmar or asking the US ambassador not to use the word Rohingya (this is denying their identity as an ethnic group although they have lived in Myanmar for centuries).
As well as the recent report there was a UN report in February and another by Amnesty International that lists the awful treatment of the Rohingya people of Myanmar (details of which are too gruesome to go through). The US Holocaust Memorial Museum has rescinded its Elie Wiesel Award granted to Suu Kyi in 2012 because she had failed to intervene in the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar. Ironically and maintaining their dreadful line Myanmar responded to this by claiming the awarding institution was “misled and exploited.”
I believe that Aung San Suu Kyi still being a Nobel laureate devalues the Nobel Peace Prize, and she should be stripped of it as she has not upheld the principles for what she was recognised for. Admittedly, the final say is with the Nobel committee but the overwhelming evidence against Aung San is so significant that I believe she does not merit the Nobel Peace Prize and it’s a shame the Nobel committee has been so reticent on the matter.
* Tahir Maher is a member of the LDV editorial team and the Chair of the English Party
