Time has come for Suu Kyi to end the silence in Myanmar
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| (Photo: EPA) |
By Shada Islam
October 5, 2013
BRUSSELS -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi receives the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize next week amid growing international concern over Buddhist-Muslim violence in the country.
The fact that the Nobel laureate can finally go to Strasbourg to pick up the prestigious prize, awarded 23 years ago, is cause for celebration. So too is Myanmar's remarkably peaceful transition from military to civilian rule.
But even as they lay out the red carpet for the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), members of the European Parliament and European Union (EU) policymakers must step up pressure for political and economic reform in the country — and urge Suu Kyi to take a stronger stance on ending the rising violence and discrimination against the Rohingyas.
Myanmar has certainly come a long way in the last few years. Once an isolated nation under a harsh military junta, the country is now universally feted for its embrace of civilian rule and continuing efforts at political reconciliation and economic reform. Investments are booming.
In a striking symbol of ongoing international rehabilitation and economic integration within the region, Myanmar will take over as chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014, thereby playing a crucial role in preparations for creating an Asean Economic Community by 2015.
Suu Kyi's fortunes have also changed. Released from years of house arrest in November 2010, she remains the country's most popular politician. After having spearheaded her party's entry into the Myanmar parliament in 2012, she is now head of the Rule of Law and Tranquillity Committee in the lower house.
With an eye on the presidency after general elections in 2015, she is now in full campaign mode, telling investors, officials and reporters in Singapore recently that the NLD is the “most effective political party” in the country and reiterating calls for changes in the constitution which currently bars those with foreign-born family members from becoming head of state. The NLD also says the constitution is undemocratic because it gives the military a substantial percentage of parliamentary seats.
Cannot Rest in Face of Violence
Myanmar's transformation is impressive. But neither Myanmar nor Suu Kyi can afford to rest on their laurels.
The Nobel laureate's standing as a defender of democracy and human rights and Myanmar's reputation as an emerging Southeast Asian tiger are conditional on their response to several challenges facing the country. Above all, they must take urgent action to stop rising inter-communal violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims (who make up 4 percent of the population).
The bloodshed which continues to rack Rakhine state is spreading to other parts of the country with Muslim communities. Since June last year, the clashes are reported to have killed over 230 people. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), the violence has regional implications given the sharp increase in the number of Rohingya Muslims making the treacherous journey by boat from Rakhine state to other countries in the region.
Inter-communal tensions have also spilled over Myanmar's borders with the murder of Myanmar Buddhists in Malaysia and related violence in other countries. There have also been threats of jihad against Myanmar and plots and attacks against Myanmar or Buddhist targets in the region, the ICG warns.
Human Rights Watch accuses the Myanmar authorities and members of Arakanese groups of committing crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya and other Muslims.
The European Parliament is clear about the way ahead. In a resolution adopted in June, it said the government must take urgent action to end all forms of persecution and violence against the Rohingya Muslims, ease their humanitarian situation and protect them from violence and public incitements to religious hostility.
The EU assembly also insisted the government draw up an action plan to address the root cause of the discrimination and undertake an urgent review of a 1982 citizenship law with a view to granting citizenship to the Rohingya.
All eyes are now on Suu Kyi who has so far steered clear of a direct condemnation of the Buddhist-Muslim violence. In Singapore recently, she admitted that the current stalemate in resolving protracted insurgencies, inter-ethnic conflicts and lack of robust laws posed the biggest challenges to development in Myanmar.
Asked about the inter-communal violence, Suu Kyi insisted on the need to respect the rule of law, saying the international community could help by “giving us your understanding (and) by trying to go deeper into the reasons why communal conflicts have been taking place.”
“Please study the situation in depth, please don't take a superficial look at it, and try to condemn one community or another,” she said.
Celebrated as an icon for democracy while she was under house arrest, Suu Kyi has spent the last few years collecting a host of much-deserved international awards and accolades. She is now entering the more difficult world of realpolitik and as a politician with presidential ambitions she is understandably reluctant to lose public support. While she sits on the fence, however, her international standing is at stake.
Violence in Myanmar deters potential investors, making them more wary of putting their money in a country facing political uncertainty. What happens in Myanmar also has deep repercussions on relations between Buddhists and Muslims in the rest of South and Southeast Asia.
The accolades Suu Kyi receives in Strasbourg will be well-merited. She is receiving the Sakharov Prize for her role in standing up to the military junta. As a strong, brave and remarkable woman, she certainly deserves it.
However, as Myanmar marches towards new horizons, it is important that the Nobel laureate and peace advocate adds her voice to calls for inter-communal reconciliation, ethnic harmony and an end to violence.
