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Aung San Suu Kyi: A deity tuned by demon


Bangladeshpost
Published : 10 Dec 2019 09:30 PM | Updated : 03 Sep 2020 10:50 PM

Durjoy Roy / Sayeed  H Shuvro / Saifuddin Al Quaderi

Can greed for power turn a sage into a demon? Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a fitting answer to the question. Suu Kyi, once idolized as an icon for democracy and human rights, an example of the power of the powerless, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, now facing genocide charge with the International Court of Justice.

Ironically, Suu Kyi who had announced a non-violent movement against the brutal dictator military generals to retain her country’s democracy, people’s freedom and human rights through giving up her freedom, is now an accused of genocide with those same gang of generals.

It can be said that Suu Kyi has become a rare example of an internationally accepted personality who ruined her own reputation by her stand against humanity, human rights and democracy for which she was willing to sacrifice her life. As a result of her non-violent movement against the dictator military generals to ensure democracy of her country and human rights of the people, Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years in detention or house arrest inflicted by the dictator Generals of Myanmar who ruled the country for decades. Her peaceful resistance in the face of repression made her an international icon against repression and violation of human rights.

Her party the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the Myanmar's first openly contested election in November 2015 and she became the de facto leader of the country. And the world astonishingly saw how deity turned into a demon just after getting the taste of power!

With an evil intention of ethnic cleansing, in 2017, Myanmar Army opened crackdown on minority Rohingya Muslims of Rakhaine state. They killed hundreds of Rohingyas, raped innumerous women and set fire to their homes indiscriminately. To save their lives, around 1.1 million Rohingya people fled Myanmar and took shelter to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Leaders, as well as people around the world strongly condemned the brutality of Myanmar military on minority Rohingya Muslims and expected a positive step from Suu Kyi to stop genocide, rape, arson attack on Rohingyas. To the utter surprise of international community, Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the country, not only remained silent against the fact, also was trying to prove they militaries were innocent!

She did not stop there. In August 2018, Suu Kyi described the army generals in her cabinet as ‘rather sweet’! Suu Kyi and the accused generals are now in Hague to face a genocide charge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).