About Aung San Suu Kyi
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
2020 elections will show how much damage has been done to leader’s reputation as a democratic reformer
Description:
"A new huge billboard recently erected at a major intersection in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon portrays the nation’s nominal leader with a message of support: “We stand with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Such billboards are not unique in Myanmar and appeared well before Suu Kyi headed to The Hague’s International Court of Justice in December to defend her nation against charges of genocide, a stand that was widely panned by foreign media but cheered by nationalist groups at home.
But the new signboard’s existence and message are noteworthy all the same. “Five years ago, it would not have been necessary,” says a local community worker who requested anonymity. “Then everybody in Yangon supported her and no-one had to be reminded of that.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-12-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma/Myanmar's political parties, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
UN member states voted 134-9 with 28 abstentions to call for urgent action to stop racial hatred against the Rohingya.
Description:
"The UN General Assembly (UNGA) approved a resolution on Friday strongly condemning human rights abuses against Myanmar's Rohingya and other minorities, including arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and deaths in detention.
The 193-member body voted 134-9 with 28 abstentions in favour of the resolution, which also calls on Myanmar's government to take urgent measures to combat incitement of hatred against the Rohingya and other minorities in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states. More:
Transcript: Aung San Suu Kyi's speech at the ICJ in full
Rohingya refugees reject Aung San Suu Kyi's 'lies on genocide'
At top court, Myanmar urged to 'stop genocide of own people'
UNGA resolutions are not legally binding but they reflect world opinion.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long considered the Rohingya to be "Bengalis" from Bangladesh, in spite of their families having lived in the country for generations.
Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless; they are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on Wednesday evening that Myanmar’s delegation defended the country “to the best of their ability” against genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in her first briefing to the nation since she returned from The Hague on Saturday.
The Gambia accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention over military clearance operations in northern Rakhine State, which caused more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee the Southeast Asian country for Bangladesh. The African country asked the ICJ to order “provisional measures” to prevent more violations.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led the country’s legal team in presenting oral arguments before the court from Dec. 11 to 12.
In her 15-minute-long speech on Wednesday she said representing Myanmar at the ICJ was an honor but also “a grave responsibility”, as the case submitted by The Gambia accused Myanmar of the most serious of crimes, genocide.
However, she said, the delegation constantly kept in mind the honor of Myanmar, the aspirations of its people, and its obligations as a member of the international community..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-12-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday thanked supporters who staged large rallies on her behalf as she defended the country against genocide charges at The Hague, speaking to the nation for the first time since she returned on Sunday. Gambia accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention over a military campaign that drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh. It has asked the International Court of Justice to order “provisional measures” to prevent more harm.
“The support of our people, given generously and unquestioningly ... was a great source of strength to us when we presented our case at the ICJ,” Nobel laureate Suu Kyi said in a televised address screened by the state broadcaster.
Suu Kyi led a team to the Netherlands for three days of hearings last week, during which she denied genocide and argued the U.N. court should not have jurisdiction.
“Every country passes through difficult times and Myanmar is no exception. Such trials provide us with an opportunity to assess our strengths and weaknesses, to reinforce one and rectify the other,” she said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-18
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Description:
"Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi urged United Nations (UN) judges on Thursday to throw out a genocide case against Myanmar, warning it risked reigniting the crisis that forced nearly three quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims from their homes.
In her closing arguments after a three-day hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Myanmar's de facto civilian leader issued a stark warning to judges that allowing Gambia's case against Myanmar to go ahead could "undermine reconciliation".
Suu Kyi, whose defence of the same generals she once defied has shredded her reputation abroad as a rights icon, even showed pictures of a football match recently played in the area affected by the violence in 2017 as evidence that was peace was returning
"I pray that the decision you make with the wisdom and vision of justice will help us to create unity out of diversity," said Suu Kyi, who wore traditional Burmese dress and flowers in her hair..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-12-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Description:
"Few people have risen so high in the international imagination only to fall as dramatically as Aung San Suu Kyi.
In 2013, after the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was released from house arrest in Myanmar, as the military regime gradually liberalized in the face of punishing international sanctions, Suu Kyi was hailed in the British parliament as a "conscience of a country and a heroine for humanity."
Two years later, as she celebrated victory for her National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar's first free elections in decades, the moment seemed to solidify her place in history as Asia's Nelson Mandela.
This week, the "heroine for humanity" appeared at the Hague to defend her country -- and by extension herself -- from accusations of genocide against Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of thousands of whom have been forced out of northwestern Myanmar by a yearslong military crackdown.
Few people are as perfect as their public image, especially when they are perceived as a saint. Nor did the 2015 election represent as much of a break with Myanmar's past as it first seemed -- the military kept a firm grip on power, while the ethnic strife and civil war which have racked the country since independence never went away..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-12-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"This week, the world was treated to an extraordinary sight. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner once hailed as “the bravest and most moral person in the world ... the immaculate heroine who allows us all to feel a little better about human nature”, sat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague and defended her country against charges of genocide.
The brutal “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces against the Muslim Rohingya population in Rakhine State between October 2016 and the end of 2017 have been extensively documented by governments and international organisations. In 2018, for example, an independent UN fact-finding mission released a 444-page report that described in horrific detail case after case of murder, torture, sexual assault and the destruction of property by the armed forces (known as the Tatmadaw) and the police.
The UN Human Rights Council stated that these operations demonstrated “genocidal intent”. A more politically nuanced US State Department investigation conducted at the same time stopped short of calling the atrocities in Myanmar genocide, but recorded broadly similar findings. Both reports noted that there were almost one million Rohingya refugees living in squalid camps in Bangladesh who stood as evidence of the crimes against humanity perpetrated against them..."
Source/publisher:
"The Interpreter"
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi is defending Myanmar in court against accusations of genocide.
According to a case brought by the country of Gambia at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, the Myanmar military in August 2017 carried out a systematic, targeted campaign of terror, rape and murder against its Muslim population.
UN investigators say as many as 10,000 Rohingya – a Muslim minority in this Buddhist-majority nation – were killed. Another 730,000 Rohingya fled the massacre for Bangladesh, joining 300,000 Rohingya who had previously fled oppression in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi said during hearings at the Hague on Dec. 11 that the charge of genocide is “misleading” because “cycles of intercommunal violence” in Myanmar date “back to the 1940s.” The Myanmar military explains its campaign as a counter-terrorism effort against a violent Rohingya extremist group..."
Source/publisher:
"The Conversation"
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar's State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi defended her country against accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague Wednesday. Some Western media outlets lashed out at the Nobel Peace Prize winner, accusing her of being the spokesperson for the massacre in Rakhine state in northern Myanmar. But inside the Southeast Asian country, which has been under the spotlight over the ethnic controversy for years, Suu Kyi enjoys widespread support. After the Myanmar leader's announcement to go to The Hague in November, hundreds of rallies were held in Yangon to show support for her. Domestic supporters said it was unfair for Western countries to put pressure on the Myanmar government led by National League for Democracy (NLD) and on Suu Kyi herself.
That the Western countries have accused the NLD government of religious persecution has triggered resentment among Myanmese. In fact, the Rohingya issue has been a long-term political, historical, ethnic, religious, economic and social problem, with various interwoven factors, such as the immigration policy during British colonial rule, illegal cross-border immigration since the independence of Myanmar in 1948, poverty, as well as lack of rule of law and national security.
So far, successive governments in Myanmar have failed to find a proper solution to the thorny issue. After Myanmar's political transformation, the Rohingya issue has been widely discussed at home and abroad, and has also become a bargaining chip for political forces to fight for power and interests. The NLD government is confronted with immense pressure from all walks of life at home and from the international community which makes it even more difficult to deal with the Rohingya conundrum..."
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Muslim victims of Myanmar ‘clearances’ voice outrage as peace prize winner dismisses atrocity charges
Description:
"When Aung San Suu Kyi rose to denounce genocide charges against her country at the “world court” last week, three victims of Myanmar’s ethnic violence were sitting close behind the Nobel peace prize winner – disbelieving and seething with anger.
Hamida Khatun, Yousuf Ali and Hasina Begum had travelled from the sprawling Kutupalong refugee camp outside Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to sit on the legal delegation attending the International Court of Justice’s emergency hearing in The Hague, in the Netherlands.
Only lawyers were allowed to address the 17 judges during the three-day session in the United Nations’ highest tribunal. The exiled Rohingya Muslims had to sit in silence, stifling their emotions.
Khatun, 50, and Ali, 46, voted for Aung San Suu Kyi in 2010 when, after 15 years of house arrest, she represented a figure of democratic hope defying the military dictatorship..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"It took 21 years for Myanmar's now de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to finally accept her Nobel peace prize after many years under house arrest. During her acceptance speech, she talked about how "wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages". For the Rohingya people of her country, these were prescient words.
Last week, Suu Kyi found herself at the International Court of Justice at The Hague defending her country from accusations of genocide. The hearing against Myanmar, made by the tiny African nation of Gambia, centres on the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims forced to flee to Bangladesh in 2017 after systematic "clearance operations" led by the military. Its case relies on a UN fact-finding mission, which described soldiers in the Myanmar state of Rakhine firing indiscriminately into houses and fields, houses set on fire with people locked inside, mass rapes, and children thrown into rivers and onto fires.
The military operation flared after many years of tension between the state’s two largest groups, the Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims. The Rohingya minority have long suffered discrimination in the form of severe travel restrictions, limited access to education and Myanmar's unwillingness to give them citizenship, in effect making them stateless. When the Rohingya's frustrations led them to attack a military base in 2017, the response from Myanmar was devastating..."
Source/publisher:
"The Sydney Morning Herald" (Sydney)
Date of publication:
2019-12-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Rohingya civilians.” That’s the phrase conspicuously absent from Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s 3,500-word statement to the International Court of Justice on Wednesday. The omission is no accident.
Suu Kyi’s highly anticipated ICJ appearance was to answer to The Gambia’s official complaint of Myanmar’s violations of the United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention, linked to the extreme military abuses against Muslim Rohingya civilians. Yet her judicial defense strategy studiously avoided any mention of civilian suffering. Instead, Suu Kyi – the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate – peddled the Myanmar military‘s long-discredited narrative that its activities in northern Rakhine state in August 2017 constituted legitimate “clearance operations” in response to attacks on police posts, allegedly perpetrated by an insurgent group. According to Suu Kyi, what transpired was merely “an internal armed conflict started by coordinated and comprehensive attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, to which Myanmar’s Defense Services responded.”Unfortunately for Suu Kyi, that narrative is at odds with voluminous evidence compiled by the United Nations’ Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and other rights monitors. That documentation demonstrates a vicious, widespread, and systematic targeting of Rohingya civilians by security forces in a weeks-long violence spree that began on August 25, 2017. That’s when security forces attacked hundreds of Rohingya villages, massacring thousands of their residents, gang-raping thousands more, and burning their homes to the ground..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Two years ago, Myanmar's military launched its crackdown on the Rohingya after attacks on its soldiers by members of the mainly Muslim minority.
The UN described what happened next as a 'textbook example of ethnic cleansing'.
The army was accused of rape, torture and murder, and villages were burned to the ground.
Almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya were forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they live in the world's biggest refugee camp.
The Gambia wanted Myanmar's military tried for genocide, and went to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
But Aung San Suu Kyi, Head of Myanmar's government, and a Nobel peace laureate, dismissed the case as "misleading and incomplete."
Why is this one-time champion of human rights defending the army that kept her under house arrest for years?..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The spectacle of Aung San Suu Kyi, a once-persecuted Nobel peace laureate now defending her country against allegations of genocide over its treatment of the Rohingya minority, has been one of bewildering irony.
Description:
In the years after she was released from house arrest in 2010, princes, presidents and prime ministers welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi with open arms into their own opulent homes.
The feel-good factor of rubbing shoulders with someone who had dedicated much of her adult life to the pursuit of democracy was irresistible.
Then, the grandeur of the Peace Palace in The Hague - a marble-floored monument to global harmony - would have been comfortable surroundings for Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize winner. A native habitat, even.
But not now. There was no red carpet, welcoming committee or brass band.
Aung San Suu Kyi: The democracy icon who fell from grace
Bangladesh 'to be tougher' on Rohingya refugees
Will Omar get justice for his murdered family?
Instead the light pouring through the stained glass of the Great Hall of Justice illuminated an often haunted-looking figure who had chosen to come and listen to descriptions of some of the most unimaginably gruesome acts. Acts said to have been committed in her country. On her watch..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2019-12-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Canadian lawyer William Schabas, an international scholar on genocide, has been criticized by friend and foe for first researching crimes against the Muslim Rohingya of Myanmar, and now defending the state accused of perpetrating them. Schabas helped research a report in 2010 on systematic attacks against the Rohingya, which concluded that they met the international threshold of crimes against humanity.
Three years later, in an Al Jazeera documentary, he was filmed saying: “Denying their history, denying the legitimacy of their right to live where they live, these are all warning signs that mean that it’s not frivolous to envisage the use of the word genocide.”
This week Schabas stood alongside Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and denied genocide took place during a military campaign in 2017 in which thousands were killed and raped and hundreds of thousands displaced.
“William Schabas is basically selling out the Rohingya for some Myanmar gov’t $$$. Really the worst sort of behavior, how totally immoral and two-faced,” Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch said on Twitter on Thursday..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said the case brought against her country at the World Court was "incomplete and misleading" as she began her defence to accusations of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority on Wednesday.
Suu Kyi, once feted in the West as a heroine of democracy, spoke for about 30 minutes at the courtroom in The Hague in defence of the actions of the Myanmar military, which she said did not constitute genocide.
In three days of hearings this week, judges are hearing the first phase of the case: Gambia's request for "provisional measures" - the equivalent of a restraining order against Myanmar to protect the Rohingya population until the case is heard in full.
More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh after the military launched a crackdown in western Rakhine state in August 2017..."
Source/publisher:
"Global News" (Toronto)
Date of publication:
2019-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Leader says a report from an internal inquiry into Myanmar soldiers was due soon
Description:
"In a defiant closing address to the UN’s highest tribunal, Aung San Suu Kyi has pleaded with its 17 international judges to dismiss allegations that Myanmar has committed genocide and urged them instead to allow the country’s court martial system to deal with any human rights abuses.
The 74-year-old leader of the Asian country informed the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague that she expected a report by an internal inquiry to recommend more prosecutions of Myanmar soldiers soon.
“I can confirm there will be further court martials after the submission of the report ... in a few weeks,” she said. “It’s vital that our civil and military justice system functions in accordance with our constitution.”
The Nobel peace prize winner’s decision to attend the court in person has astounded human rights groups. Once an international icon representing peaceful defiance of military dictatorship, her reputation has plummeted as she has repeatedly defended her country’s army in the aftermath of the Rohingya exodus in 2017.
Thousands of people were killed and about 740,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority fled across the border into sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh after Myanmar launched a huge military crackdown in Rakhine state..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
While defending military against genocide charges, Myanmar leader does not use Rohingya to describe persecuted minority.
Description:
"In a speech on Wednesday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that lasted about 30 minutes, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi defended her country's military against allegations of genocide.
The case, filed by The Gambia, accuses Myanmar of violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with regard to a bloody crackdown in 2017 in which thousands of Rohingya were abused, displaced and killed.
The hearing concludes on Thursday, but a final judgement could take several years.
More:
Transcript: Aung San Suu Kyi's speech at the ICJ in full
Rohingya refugees reject Aung San Suu Kyi's 'lies on genocide'
At top court, Myanmar urged to 'stop genocide of own people'
In her opening statement, the former human rights icon denied "genocidal intent" on the part of the military and outlined the history of tensions in Rakhine state.
She promised that civilians and members of the military who attacked innocent people would be prosecuted, but repeatedly termed the 2017 crackdown as an "internal conflict", saying Myanmar's military was responding to attacks by armed local groups, such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
ICJ hearing draws to close as Aung San Suu Kyi faces fresh criticism for defending Myanmar against genocide allegation.
Description:
"Myanmar cannot be trusted to hold its soldiers accountable for alleged atrocities against its Rohingya minority, and measures to stop the violence need to be taken immediately, a lawyer presenting a genocide case against the country said on Thursday.
Speaking on the third and final day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case brought by The Gambia under the 1948 Genocide Convention, the West African country's lead lawyer repeated its demand for "provisional measures" to restrain the Myanmar military until the case is heard in full. More:
Transcript: Aung San Suu Kyi's speech at the ICJ in full
Rohingya refugees reject Aung San Suu Kyi's 'lies on genocide'
At top court, Myanmar urged to 'stop genocide of own people'
Paul Reichler said Myanmar had not even tried during the hearings to deny most of the accusations of extreme violence made against its military, known officially as the Tatmadaw, nor of the mass deportation of Rohingya following a 2017 crackdown.
Statements from Myanmar that it was taking action to prosecute soldiers accused of wrongdoing were incredible, he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"The Muslim-majority African country has accused Myanmar of genocide in a case at the UN's top court.
Lawyers said Ms Suu Kyi had ignored widespread allegations of mass murder, rape and forced deportation.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has defended her country, calling the case "incomplete and incorrect".
In her closing remarks at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday, she said the genocide case could "undermine reconciliation".
What did The Gambia say?
Lawyers for The Gambia hit out at arguments from Ms Suu Kyi that a 2017 military crackdown in Rakhine state was a "clearance operation" targeting militants.
Thousands of Rohingya were killed and more than 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh during the crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. There were widespread allegations of sexual violence and rape..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi urged UN judges on Thursday to drop a genocide case against her country, warning it risked reigniting the crisis that forced nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims from their homes.
In her closing arguments after a three-day hearing at the ICJ, Suu Kyi issued a stark warning to judges that allowing The Gambia's case against Myanmar to go ahead could "undermine reconciliation."
The Nobel peace laureate earlier denied accusations of genocide caused by Myanmar's armed forces at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
Suu Kyi said the Myanmar army only intervened after an attack by fighters of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in August 2017. She pointed out that tensions have existed for centuries between different groups in the Rakhine state in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
In a speech that lasted about 30 minutes, Myanmar leader defended her country's military against genocide allegations.
Description:
"Aung San Suu Kyi has defended Myanmar's military against genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), amid accusations of mass killings, rape and expulsion of the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
In her opening statement in front of judges in The Hague on Wednesday, the former human rights icon rejected the case at the United Nations' highest court - which was filed by the Gambia with the support of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - alleging Myanmar violated the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The hearing concludes on Thursday, but a final judgement could take several years.
More:
Aung San Suu Kyi defends Myanmar against genocide allegations
Rohingya refugees reject Aung San Suu Kyi's 'lies on genocide'
Timeline: How the crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya unfolded
Here is her speech in full:
"Thank you, Mr President and members of the court. It is an honour to appear as Agent of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar in these proceedings, in my capacity as Union Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"For materially less resourceful countries like Myanmar, the World Court is a vital refuge of international justice. We look to the Court to establish conditions conducive to respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law, one of the fundamental objectives of the United Nations Charter..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
De facto PM defends actions of government, saying attacks were initiated by insurgents
Description:
"The Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has defended Myanmar’s government against accusations of genocide at the international court of justice, calling the allegations an “incomplete and misleading factual picture of the situation”.
Addressing a bench of 17 judges from around the world, the 74-year-old leader dismissed reports of state violence against Rohingya Muslims and blamed the conflict on an uprising by sectarian insurgents.
An estimated 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since late 2016, escaping military clearance operations that a UN fact-finding mission described as “brutal”. It warned that Myanmar was failing to prevent genocide.
Once internationally feted as a human rights champion, Aung San Suu Kyi is leading Myanmar’s delegation to the court in The Hague. The state counsellor, in effect the country’s prime minister, opened her defence with a 25-minute speech which placed primary responsibility for the violence on a terrorist uprising.
The attacks were initiated by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Aung San Suu Kyi told the court as she displayed detailed maps of Rakhine state showing, she claimed, where the first assaults began in late 2016..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has defended her country against allegations of genocide at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Description:
"The Nobel Peace Prize laureate responded to widespread claims that Myanmar (formerly Burma) committed atrocities against Muslim Rohingya.
In her opening remarks, she called the case against Myanmar "incomplete and incorrect".
She said troubles in Rakhine, where many Rohingya lived, go back centuries.
Thousands of Rohingya were killed and more than 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh during an army crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017.
Myanmar has always insisted it was tackling an extremist threat in Rakhine state, and Ms Suu Kyi maintained that stance, describing the violence as an "internal armed conflict" triggered by Rohingya militant attacks on government security posts.
The democracy icon who fell from grace
Rohingya homes destroyed for government facilities
Conceding that Myanmar's military might have used disproportionate force at times, she said that if soldiers had committed war crimes "they will be prosecuted".
Ms Suu Kyi - once celebrated internationally as a champion of democracy - has been de facto leader of Myanmar since April 2016, before the alleged genocide began. She does not have control over the army, but has been accused by the UN investigator of "complicity" in the military clearances.
Ms Suu Kyi has chosen to stand up for the same army that kept her under house arrest for years..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2019-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
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Sub-title:
Leaders in refugee camps says justice will be delivered based on the evidence they have provided of Myanmar atrocities
Description:
"Rohingya refugees have hit back at Aung San Suu Kyi’s claims at the international court of justice in testimony on Wednesday after she denied that Myanmar’s armed forces were guilty of genocide against the Muslim minority.
Suu Kyi told the court that the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to neighbouring Bangladesh was the unfortunate result of a battle with insurgents.
She denied the army had killed civilians, raped women and torched houses in 2017. Critics describe the actions by the army as a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee.
“The world will judge their claim of no genocide with evidence,” said a Rohingya leader, Mohammed Mohibullah, who is chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press (AP)" (New York) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi returned to the International Court of Justice on Thursday to defend Myanmar against accusations it has committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority population.
Gambia, which brought the suit at the U.N.'s top court under the 1948 Genocide Convention, has asked judges to order "provisional measures" that would act as a kind of restraining order for the Myanmar military until the case is heard in full.
At Thursday's hearing each side will have a chance to counter arguments put forward by the other over the past two days, starting with Gambia, a small west African country that is supported by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation.
On Tuesday, Gambia's legal team outlined graphic testimony of bloody excesses alleged committed by Myanmar's military since 2016 in a campaign that has seen more than 730,000 Rohingya driven across the border from Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh. U.N. investigators estimated 10,000 people may have been killed.
Suu Kyi on Wednesday argued the tribunal, also known as the World Court, should not have jurisdiction. She said even if there had been violations of humanitarian law during what she described as an "internal conflict", they did not rise to the level of genocide and are not covered by the Convention.
Gambia, led by Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou, was expected to argue on Thursday that Myanmar's actions do meet the definition of genocide, as attacks on the Rohingya were part of a coordinated plan of ethnic cleansing.
Suu Kyi and her team will have several hours to formulate a rebuttal and final statement by the end of on Thursday. The court has not set a date for a decision on provisional measures, but one could come in January.
Its decisions are binding and not subject to appeal, though it has no means of enforcement and countries have occasionally ignored them in the past or failed to fully adhere..."
Source/publisher:
"The Telegraph" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Political coverage and commentary takes up most of the front pages. The BBC, along with other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning while the polls are open
Description:
"Away from the election, The Times considers what it calls the extraordinary transition of the Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, following her appearance at the International Court of Justice defending her country's treatment of the Rohingya Muslims.
It says she's gone from dissident voice, political prisoner and opposition politician to the genocide-denying champion of an almost friendless government. It suggests that the Nobel Peace Prize awards committee should think carefully about whether she still deserves the honour.
The Daily Telegraph says that, often lauded for her principled stance against the military, Miss Suu Kyi has been criticised for now defending their actions.
For the Financial Times, her journey from the Nobel Peace Prize podium in Oslo to the UN court in The Hague is a symbol of her alienation from global admirers who once saw her as a human rights icon.
There's sharp criticism of a new law passed in India yesterday that will fast-track citizenship claims for immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - but not if they are Muslim.
The Financial Times warns that the law threatens the history of Indian secularism. It is, the paper says, a milestone in the campaign by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to reshape India into an overtly Hindu nation..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of publication:
2019-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"1. Thank you, Mr. President and Members of the Court. It is an honour to appear as Agent of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar in these proceedings, in my capacity as Union Minister for
Foreign Affairs. For materially less resourceful countries like Myanmar, the World Court is a vital
refuge of international justice. We look to the Court to establish conditions conducive to respect
for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law, one of the fundamental
objectives of the United Nations Charter.
2. In the present case, Mr. President, the Court has been asked to apply the 1948 Genocide
Convention, one of the most fundamental multilateral treaties of our time. Invoking the 1948
Genocide Convention is a matter of utmost gravity. This is the treaty that we made following the
systematic killing of more than six million European Jews, and that my country whole-heartedly
signed as early as 30 December 1949 and ratified on 14 March 1956. Genocide is the crime that
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda applied in response to the mass-killing of perhaps
70% of the Tutsis in Rwanda. It is the crime that was not applied by the Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia to the displacement of approximately one million residents of Kosovo in 1999.
Neither was it applied by that Tribunal nor by this Court when deciding upon the exodus of the
Serb population from Croatia in 1995. In both situations international justice resisted the
temptation to use this strongest of legal classifications because the requisite specific intent to
physically destroy the targeted group in whole or in part was not present.
3. Regrettably, The Gambia has placed before the Court an incomplete and misleading factual
picture of the situation in Rakhine State in Myanmar. Yet, it is of the utmost importance that the
Court assess the situation obtaining on the ground in Rakhine dispassionately and accurately..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar State Counsellor Office (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Format :
pdf
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153.4 KB (6 pages)
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Sub-title:
World’s failure to act over Myanmar is ‘stain on collective conscience’, UN court told
Description:
"Aung San Suu Kyi has sat impassively through graphic accounts of mass murder and rape perpetrated by Myanmar’s military at the start of a three-day hearing into allegations of genocide at the UN’s highest court.
“I stand before you to awaken the conscience of the world and arouse the voice of the international community,” Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, the Gambia’s attorney general and justice minister, said as he opened his country’s case against Myanmar at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague. “In the words of Edmund Burke: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’
“Another genocide is unfolding right before our eyes yet we do nothing to stop it,” he said. “This is a stain on our collective conscience. It’s not only the state of Myanmar that is on trial here, it’s our collective humanity that is being put on trial.” Before dawn on Tuesday, a long queue had formed outside the Peace Palace in the Dutch city to witness the first of three days of hearings that will focus attention on military clearance operations in 2017 against the Rohingya Muslim minority, 700,000 of whom were forced to flee across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar leader will defend country against charges of genocide over a 2017 crackdown on the Rohingya filed by Gambia.
Description:
"Aung San Suu Kyi will appear at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Tuesday for a highly anticipated genocide case against Myanmar.
The country's civilian leader, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against Myanmar's military dictatorship, arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Sunday alongside Wouter Jurgens, the Dutch ambassador to Myanmar, and was greeted by a handful of supporters. More:
Rohingya campaigners say won't be 'silenced' by online threats
Myanmar sets up special legal unit as Rohingya cases loom
A boy who can sing: The life of a Rohingya child refugee
Several demonstrations, for and against her, are expected to take place in the coming days in the Dutch city.
The case, the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over alleged mass killings of the Rohingya minority, comes after the Gambia on November 11 filed an application at the ICJ, accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Aung San Suu Kyi's office confirmed last month that she would participate in the hearing and lead her country's team to "defend the national interest".
More than 700,000 Rohingya, a mostly-Muslim minority, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after a bloody crackdown in 2017 by the Myanmar military, which UN investigators have concluded was carried out with "genocidal intent"..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"From democracy champion to defending Myanmar against genocide charges, the shock decision by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to face the UN’s top court risks further damaging her image overseas and deepening the siege mentality at home.
“We stand with you,” proclaim billboards across Myanmar, sporting beaming portraits of the Nobel laureate as she prepares to face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Rohingya crisis.
Suu Kyi’s supporters are printing off T-shirts, organising rallies and even signing up to VIP tours to The Hague to offer their backing.
Political parties and even some rebel armed groups have also fallen over themselves to give their support, in a country where the Rohingya garner little sympathy and are widely regarded as illegal immigrants.
Yet overseas, particularly in the West and in Muslim countries, Suu Kyi’s reputation lies in tatters with multiple awards and even an honorary citizenship revoked.
Critics say “The Lady”, once lauded alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, has become an apologist for a murderous military intent on wiping out the country’s Rohingya Muslims.
The spectacle of Suu Kyi standing up in court on behalf of the nation might play well at home but she risks suffering a fatal blow to what remains of her international reputation.
“If she’s only going to use the visit to demonstrate defiance and continue to defend the indefensible, then it only widens the impasse,” Yangon-based analyst David Mathieson told AFP..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication:
2019-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"နယ်သာလန်နိုင်ငံက ICJ တရားရုံးအထိ ကိုယ်တိုင်သွားပြီး နိုင်ငံ့ကိုယ်စား ဦးဆောင်ရင်ဆိုင်ရဲတဲ့ ဒေါ်အောင် ဆန်းစုကြည်ရဲ့လုပ်ရပ်ကို ကြိဆိုထောက်ခံတယ်လို့ ဝါရင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးလှုပ်ရှားသူ Equality Myanmar ရဲ့ အမှုဆောင်ဒါရိုက်တာ ဦးအောင်မျိုးမင်းကပြောပါတယ်။ One News က ဦးထက်အောင်ကျော်နဲ့ သီးသန့် မေးမြန်းခန်းအတွင်း သူက အဲဒီလိုပြောခဲ့တာပါ။
အခု ထုတ်လွှင့်ပေးမယ့် မေးမြန်းချက် ပထမ ပိုင်းမှာတော့… ICJ နဲ့ ICC ဘာကွာသလဲ၊ ICC က စွပ်စွဲစဉ်က ဘာမှမတုန့်ပြန်ဘဲ ICJ ပြောမှ နိုင်ငံတော်အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ်ကိုယ်တိုင် သွားရောက်ဖြေရှင်းတာ ဘာကြောင့်လဲ၊ တရားရုံးရဲ့ ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်က ဘာဖြစ်နိုင်သလဲ၊ လူထုထောက်ခံပွဲတွေက ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်ကို ထောက်ခံ တာအပြင် ရခိုင်အရေးဖြစ်စဉ်တွေအပေါ်ပါ ကရက်ရိုက်မှုရှိလာနိုင်သလား… စတဲ့အကြောင်းအရာတွေကို ဆွေးနွေးတင်ပြထားပါတယ်။..."
Source/publisher:
One News (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Criminal Court (Myanmar), Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese-language news sources: Broadcast (radio and TV)
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Font:
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Sub-title:
Peace prize winner will lead her country’s defence against claims at court in Netherlands
Description:
"A momentous legal confrontation will take place at the UN’s highest court on Tuesday when the Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi appears in person to defend Myanmar against accusations of genocide.
Once internationally feted as a human rights champion, Myanmar’s state counsellor is scheduled to lead a delegation to the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
The claim that Myanmar’s military carried out mass murder, rape and destruction of Rohingya Muslim communities has been brought by the Gambia, a west African state that belongs to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The contrast is repeatedly drawn between Aung San Suu Kyi’s 1991 peace prize win and 15 years spent under house arrest, and her present position as chief denier that any ethnic violence has been perpetrated against the Rohingya. Last year, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum revoked her Elie Wiesel award..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"From democracy champion to defending Myanmar against genocide charges, the shock decision by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to face the UN’s top court risks further damaging her image overseas and deepening the siege mentality at home.
“We stand with you,” proclaim billboards across Myanmar, sporting beaming portraits of the Nobel laureate as she prepares to face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Rohingya crisis.
Suu Kyi’s supporters are printing off T-shirts, organizing rallies and even signing up to VIP tours to The Hague to offer their backing.
Political parties and even some rebel armed groups have also fallen over themselves to give their support, in a country where the Rohingya garner little sympathy and are widely regarded as illegal immigrants..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi departed on Sunday for the U.N’s top court in The Hague to defend the country against charges of genocide of its Rohingya Muslim minority. Suu Kyi was pictured smiling as she walked through the airport in the nation’s capital, Naypyitaw, flanked by officials, a day after thousands rallied in the city to support her and a prayer ceremony was held in her name.
Crowds are expected to gather again in the afternoon to send off several dozen supporters who will travel to The Hague in the Netherlands and demonstrations are planned throughout the coming week, with hearings set for Dec. 10 to 12.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African country, filed a lawsuit in November accusing Buddhist-majority Myanmar of genocide, the most serious international crime, against its Rohingya Muslim minority.
During three days of hearings, it will ask the 16-member panel of U.N judges at the International Criminal Court of Justice to impose “provisional measures” to protect the Rohingya before the case can be heard in full..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
" From democracy champion to defending Myanmar against genocide charges, the shock decision by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to face the UN's top court risks further damaging her image overseas and deepening the siege mentality at home.
"We stand with you," proclaim billboards across Myanmar, sporting beaming portraits of the Nobel laureate as she prepares to face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Rohingya crisis.
Suu Kyi's supporters are printing off T-shirts, organising rallies and even signing up to VIP tours to The Hague to offer their backing.
Political parties and even some rebel armed groups have also fallen over themselves to give their support, in a country where the Rohingya garner little sympathy and are widely regarded as illegal immigrants.
Yet overseas, particularly in the West and in Muslim countries, Suu Kyi's reputation lies in tatters with multiple awards and even an honorary citizenship revoked..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Thousands rallied in support of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar Saturday, on the eve of her departure for the UN’s top court to defend Myanmar against charges of genocide against Rohingya Muslims.
The raucous rally in the capital Naypyidaw came as China’s foreign minister arrived for a visit at Suu Kyi’s invitation.
Analysts say Beijing’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council – and its veto vote – makes it a valuable ally as Myanmar faces intensifying scrutiny over its treatment of the Rohingya.
Once-lauded democracy champion Suu Kyi’s shock decision to face the International Court of Justice (ICJ) next week to defend Myanmar against charges it committed genocide against the Muslim minority risks further damaging her already tattered overseas reputation.
But domestically “The Lady” remains revered, and the resolve of her supporters has only hardened in the lead-up to the ICJ hearing scheduled for December 10-12.
“We are proud of her taking accountability... by going to The Hague to protect the nation’s image,” shouted prominent writer Htin Lin Oo into a microphone in front of a banner emblazoned with the words “We stand with our leader.”
“Our blood shall come together and unite us when it is important,” he shouted to a cheering crowd, who hoisted colourful artwork of Suu Kyi in the air..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-12-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"ISN’T IT TIME Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was indicted for war crimes and genocide at the International Criminal Court?
This Sunday marks two years since the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, arrived in Rakhine state, in western Myanmar, to launch a renewed campaign of terror and violence against the country’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. Unspeakable crimes were committed by Burmese troops and vigilantes: Rohingya men hacked to death; children burned alive; women and girls raped and sexually assaulted in their hundreds and thousands. Scores of villages were pillaged and razed to the ground as more than 700,000 Rohingya were driven from their homes. One cautious estimate put the death toll at more than 10,000.
Two years on, as Rohingya refugees languish in squalid camps across the border in Bangladesh, it is difficult to overstate the sheer barbarism they have had to endure. The U.S. State Department has called it “ethnic cleansing,” with Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, describing the violence against the Rohingya “as bad as or worse than any other I have personally seen — including as one of the first U.S. officials to visit Darfur in 2004.” In August 2018, a United Nations fact-finding commission accused the Burmese military of genocide — a view endorsed by, among others, experts at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and a unanimous vote by the Canadian parliament in Ottawa. The U.N.’s investigators even demanded Myanmar’s top military commanders be investigated and prosecuted for the “gravest” crimes against civilians under international law..."
Source/publisher:
"The Intercept"
Date of publication:
2019-08-24
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"On Tuesday, World Human Rights Day, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will fight accusations of genocide brought against her country at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Myanmar has been called to answer for alleged atrocities committed during a military-led crackdown two years ago that saw more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The case has been filed with the court by Gambia.
This timeline charts Suu Kyi’s journey from political prisoner to leader of her troubled nation:
June 19, 1945: Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero General Aung San, is born. Her father is assassinated when she is 2 years old.
1988: She returns to Myanmar to care for her dying mother and is swept up in nationwide protests against decades of military rule.
1989: Having crushed the protests and killed thousands, the military puts Suu Kyi under house arrest..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"The last time Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi traveled to western Europe, she was feted as the freshly elected civilian ruler of a fledgling democracy who had brought an end to half a century of military dictatorship.
When the Nobel peace prize laureate returns next week, her first trip to the region since a 2017 military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar, it will be to face accusations of genocide, alongside the army she spent much of her life battling.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state backed by the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), lodged a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month against Myanmar for genocide, including mass murder and rape.
Myanmar denies the allegations, and Suu Kyi’s office said she would fly to The Hague for the first hearings, from Dec. 10, to “defend the national interest”.
“There is a discrepancy between the opinion of Myanmar and the international community,” said Myo Nyunt, the senior spokesman for her National League for Democracy Party. “She has to explain what has really taken place in northern Rakhine.”...."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"Leaders currently in office rarely make an appearance before either the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court. International law remains affixed to the notion that heads-of-state are, at least for the duration of their time in office, safe from prosecution. Matters change once the time in office expires.
Be that as it may, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, with an ever dwindling number of peace prizes and awards to her name for questionable responses to the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority, has a plan. She intends to personally plead the case of her country against charges of genocide being made in the International Court of Justice. As the Ministry of the Interior has claimed, the argument against state brutality against the Rohingya has arisen due to ignorance about “the complexities of the issue and the narratives of the people of Myanmar.”
The case itself is drawn from the well of universal jurisdiction, a concept that Henry Kissinger finds so troubling to the freedom of flexible statecraft. The former US secretary of state, in 2001, warned that subjecting international relations to judicial procedures came with risks. “The danger lies in pushing the effort to extremes that risk substituting the tyranny of judges for that of governments; historically, the dictatorship of the virtuous has often led to inquisitions and even witch-hunts.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of publication:
2019-12-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Going to the ICJ
Description:
"Leaders currently in office rarely make an appearance before either the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court. International law remains affixed to the notion that heads-of-state are, at least for the duration of their time in office, safe from prosecution. Matters change once the time in office expires.
Be that as it may, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, with an ever dwindling number of peace prizes and awards to her name for questionable responses to the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority, has a plan. She intends to personally plead the case of her country against charges of genocide being made in the International Court of Justice. As the Ministry of the Interior has claimed, the argument against state brutality against the Rohingya has arisen due to ignorance about “the complexities of the issue and the narratives of the people of Myanmar.”
The case itself is drawn from the well of universal jurisdiction, a concept that Henry Kissinger finds so troubling to the freedom of flexible statecraft. The former US secretary of state, in 2001, warned that subjecting international relations to judicial procedures came with risks. “The danger lies in pushing the effort to extremes that risk substituting the tyranny of judges for that of governments; historically, the dictatorship of the virtuous has often led to inquisitions and even witch-hunts.”.."
Source/publisher:
"Dissident Voice" (California)
Date of publication:
2019-12-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"There has been strong reaction in Myanmar to Aung San Suu Kyi's decision to appear at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to defend the country against charges of genocide. While Western diplomats have tried to persuade the civilian leader that she was embarking on a high-risk strategy, and should reconsider. Attitudes amongst the intellectuals, politicians, MPs and civil society range from animated support to more measured approaches.
Myanmar's civilian government and its military leaders are accused of crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide towards its Muslim population in the strife-torn western Rakhine state during the last three years of military operations. These "clearance campaigns" forced nearly a million Muslims -- or Rohingya as they call themselves -- to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh for safety.
While the move came as a surprise to most people in the country including foreign diplomats, the response was swift. Demonstrations of support -- organised by the governing party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), "spontaneously" took place in the commercial capital Yangon and other urban centres almost hours after the official announcement of the State Counsellor's planned trip. More demonstrations are planned in the coming weeks before hearing opens on Dec 10..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
more
Sub-title:
International pressure to rehabilitate the Rohingya and reform Rakhine is unlikely to dissipate
Description:
"Myanmar’s top leaders -- both military and civilian -- have been shell-shocked by the avalanche of international legal cases they are now facing. In the space of days, three cases have been lodged in separate courts, all intended to make the Myanmar government and the country’s military leaders accountable for the horrendous events that unfolded in strife-torn western Rakhine state during military operations over the last three years.
But the key case -- at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) brought by Gambia on behalf of the 57-nation member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- has finally propelled the Myanmar government to take decisive action. The State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced late last week that she will lead the country’s defense team, supported by a panel of prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia.
“The Myanmar government is taking this case very seriously,” the minister for international cooperation and deputy foreign minister, Kyaw Tin told the Bangkok Post in the sidelines of a major economic conference in the capital Naypitaw on Friday. In fact, as Myanmar is a signatory to this convention -- which the democratic government of U Nu’s signed in 1956 -- it cannot ignore the process..."
Source/publisher:
Bangkok Post (Thailand) via "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
‘What’s your take on Aung San Suu Kyi?’
Description:
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was in his element Monday morning as he welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the University of Louisville.
The Kentucky Republican served as interviewer for an onstage discussion with Pompeo, who is widely known to be the preferred candidate of McConnell and other senior Republicans for the Senate seat in Kansas being opened by the pending retirement of GOP Sen. Pat Roberts.
While McConnell did not ask the former CIA director and House member from Kansas about his interest in running for that Senate seat next year (at least not on stage), the question and answer session hit on some of McConnell’s other favorite topics.
“What’s your take on Aung San Suu Kyi?” McConnell asked in his closing question at the event hosted by the McConnell Center. The Senate majority leader has long been the leading voice on U.S. policy toward Myanmar, having a decades-long association with Suu Kyi, whose holds the title of State Counsellor, where she leads the civilian government of the country also known as Burma..."
Source/publisher:
"Roll Call" (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace prize winner who spent years under house arrest in Myanmar before being elected leader of the country in 2015, will travel to the Hague next month to defend her country against allegations of genocide. Few have been punished since the military-led crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine state in 2017, which left thousands dead and forced more than 700,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. Aung San Suu Kyi is thought to have little control over the army (a junta until recently), but she has refused to condemn its actions. Until now, Aung San Suu Kyi has defended the onslaught as a legitimate counterinsurgency against Muslim militants. The first public hearing at the International Court of Justice will begin on December 10.
Violent clashes in Lebanon – Clashes between Lebanese protesters and supporters of Hezbollah and Amal – the forces representing the country's large Shia population – intensified on Tuesday with reports of gunfire in some cities. The confrontations are some of the worst since protests erupted in mid-October, forcing Prime Minister Saad Hariri to step down. And they're a worrying display of precisely the political and sectarian strains that demonstrators say they want to get rid of. Consultations to appoint a new prime minister are expected to begin later this week. We're watching to see if this new appointment– a post reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system – will defuse tensions, or inflame them..."
Source/publisher:
"GZERO Media"
Date of publication:
2019-11-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Description:
"As Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to travel to the Netherlands to fight charges of genocide against her country at the International Court of Justice, her supporters have embarked on an impassioned publicity campaign. Suu Kyi’s reputation overseas has sunk to its lowest ebb over the treatment of Rohingya Muslims but the Nobel Peace Prize laureate enjoys overwhelming support at home, where her image is undented by accusations of complicity in atrocities.
On Sunday, several hundred people gathered in downtown Yangon for the third in a series of rallies organized by supporters since the announcement was made that she would personally fight the charges.
“Aung San Suu Kyi is the bravest leader in the world,” Saw Phoe Kwar, a reggae singer known for his hits ‘Love Each Other’ and ‘Stop the Hate’, told the crowds, who waved flags and chanted..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
more
Description:
"About 700 people rallied Sunday to show support for Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as she prepares to defend the country against charges of genocide at the U.N.’s highest court.
Members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party swelled the ranks in front of the colonial-era City Hall in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, as the crowd waved national flags and listened to music and poetry. A popular local singer told them “Mother Suu is the bravest human being in the world – her weapon is love.”
Many carried banners saying, “We stand with you, Mother Suu.”
The case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague relates to a harsh counterinsurgency campaign waged by Myanmar’s military against members of the country’s Muslim Rohingya community in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and the torching of homes..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (New York)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Former democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is among several top Myanmar officials named Wednesday in a case filed in Argentina for crimes against Rohingya Muslims, the first time the Nobel Laureate has been legally targeted over the crisis.
Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted the lawsuit in Argentina under the principle of "universal jurisdiction," a legal concept enshrined in many countries' laws.
The premise is that some acts - including war crimes and crimes against humanity - are so horrific they are not specific to one nation and can be tried anywhere.
"This complaint seeks the criminal sanction of the perpetrators, accomplices and cover-ups of the genocide. We are doing it through Argentina because they have no other possibility of filing the criminal complaint anywhere else," lawyer Tomas Ojea told AFP.
The lawsuit demands top military and political leaders - including army chief Min Aung Hlaing and civilian leader Suu Kyi - face justice over the "existential threat" faced by the Rohingya Muslim minority..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Telegraph" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-11-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Topic:
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, ROHINGYA, PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, GAMBIA, RAKHINE STATE, INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Topic:
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, ROHINGYA, PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, GAMBIA, RAKHINE STATE, INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Description:
"Next month, Myanmar’s government will get the first taste of what it has fought hard to prevent for more than two years: international accountability for widespread and systematic violence against its Muslim Rohingya minority.
Between December 10 and 12, Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will lead this first phase of her government’s defense at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against The Gambia’s official complaint against Myanmar for violations of the United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention. That complaint hinges on abuses inflicted by Myanmar security forces against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine state in 2017.
Suu Kyi will not face Myanmar’s accusers alone. Myanmar has already warned that it will deploy unidentified “prominent international lawyers” to challenge The Gambia’s complaint. Myanmar has not shared what its legal strategy at The Hague will entail beyond “defending the national interest.” What’s certain is that Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s lawyers face an uphill battle in challenging the extensively documented campaign of mass murder, gang rape, and mutilation targeted at Rohingya civilians..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-11-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The problem of the 21st century is the problem of colour lines
Description:
"If Aung San Suu Kyi had been in London last week, a visit to the sprawling Westfield shopping mall in unfashionable Stratford might have reiterated for her the truism that England is indeed the home of lost causes. A trip to the other Westfield, the older and seemingly somewhat smaller mall in equally insalubrious Shepherd’s Bush, might have shown that hope, like love, still flourishes among the ruins.
Myanmar’s Nobel laureate State Counsellor, the equivalent of a prime minister, should at once have realized that both malls portray variants of the trauma suffered by Manchester United’s French-born, ethnic Guinean midfielder, Paul Pogba. The anti-racism body, Kick It Out, is currently investigating the racist abuse aimed at Pogba on social media. The Red Cross’s modest eight-day interactive exhibition in the Stratford Westfield depicted the plight of the darker-skinned Rohingyas whom Myanmar treats with the utmost cruelty. Gurinder Chadha’s film, Blinded by the Light, at the Shepherd’s Bush Westfield, shows how Javed, a young British-born Pakistani, triumphed over what used to be called the ‘colour bar’ in the British industrial town of Luton in the Eighties..."
Source/publisher:
"The Telegraph" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-08-24
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Topic:
Rohingya, Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, Human Rights, Genocide
Sub-title:
Army blames soldiers and officers deployed to one village saying they were 'weak in following rules of engagement'.
Topic:
Rohingya, Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, Human Rights, Genocide
Description:
"Myanmar's military began a rare court martial of soldiers on Tuesday following a probe into alleged atrocities during a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, a spokesman said, as the country prepares to face genocide charges at an international court in The Hague.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape a Myanmar military offensive launched in August 2017 that United Nations investigators described as having been executed with genocidal intent.
Soldiers, police, and Buddhist villagers are alleged to have razed hundreds of villages in the remote western Rakhine state, torturing Rohingya as they fled, carrying out mass killings and gang rapes..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-27
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Topic:
MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY, 2020 ELECTIONS, UNITED DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY PARTY
Sub-title:
Businesses are bracing for a slowdown and possibly worse ahead of risk-laden 2020 polls
Topic:
MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY, 2020 ELECTIONS, UNITED DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY PARTY
Description:
"Myanmar-based executives and investors are bracing for a business slowdown in the run-up to next year’s general elections, as uncertainty rises over the Southeast Asian nation’s political and policy directions.
The election, tentatively scheduled for November 2020, will essentially pit de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) against the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the country’s two major political parties.
The NLD romped to victory in 2015 in the nation’s first competitive election in 25 years, a shift from quasi-military to quasi-democratic rule that many then hoped would fuel a foreign investment-led economic boom.
But Suu Kyi’s ability and willingness to orchestrate that boom has been constrained by a power-sharing arrangement with the autonomous military, which controls the crucial defense, home affairs and border affairs ministries, as well as her singular focus on flagging peace process..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-11-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Articles on the NLD, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Description:
"One of the enduring mysteries in recent years is what happened to Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi. Somehow, some way, the woman known as “the Lady of Burma”—who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 after she spent 15 years under house arrest in Myanmar for her democratic activism—seems to have lost her soul. Her drive to the top of Myanmar’s political hierarchy and quest to burnish her political legacy have been relentless, but also devastating for all those who once hailed her commitment to democracy and nonviolence.
Since she became the de facto civilian head of Myanmar’s government following landmark elections in 2015, assuming the newly created position of state counselor, equivalent to prime minister, Aung San Suu Kyi has emerged as one of the most virulent defenders of the military junta that separated her from her family for years and ruled Myanmar for decades—and whose generals still wield most of the power in the country. This week, however, the Nobel laureate showed just how much she will compromise for the sake of power when she announced that she will personally lead the legal team defending Myanmar against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice. Next month, she will travel to The Hague to fight tooth and nail in a case brought to the ICJ recently by Gambia, with the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, alleging that Myanmar’s military committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in its campaign to drive minority Rohingya Muslims out of western Myanmar. The announcement comes at an inauspicious time for Myanmar, since this is not the only case seeking justice for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have been displaced from their homes since the military onslaught began in August 2017. As noted by Andrew Boyle at Just Security, in addition to the war crimes charges at the ICJ, government officials in the majority-Buddhist country are also facing additional charges of genocide and crimes against humanity brought on behalf of the Rohingya under a universal jurisdiction claim in Argentina. Meanwhile, judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague have also authorized the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, to move forward with a formal investigation into charges that Myanmar’s leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and her military compatriots, were complicit in genocide..."
Source/publisher:
"World Politics Review (WPR)"
Date of publication:
2019-11-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rakhine, Genocide, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Buddhist-majority Myanmar is accused of genocide against Rohingya in a 2017 crackdown by the country's military.
Description:
"Myanmar's leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will head a delegation to the United Nations' top court to argue against a case accusing the mainly Buddhist country of genocide against the Rohingya, the government said.
More than 730,000 Rohingya, most of them Muslims, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military, which UN investigators said was carried out with "genocidal intent". More:
Rohingya crisis through the eyes of Al Jazeera's journalists
Lawsuit: Aung San Suu Kyi 'committed crimes' against Rohingya
Gambia files Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar at UN court
The Buddhist-majority country has repeatedly justified the crackdown on the Rohingya as necessary to stamp out fighters. It also insists its own committees are adequate to investigate allegations of abuse..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Criminal Court, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Topic:
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar, Rohingya, South and Central Asia, Argentina news
Sub-title:
Case launches in Argentina under ‘universal jurisdiction’ demanding justice over ‘existential threat’ to minority
Topic:
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar, Rohingya, South and Central Asia, Argentina news
Description:
"Aung San Suu Kyi is among several top Myanmar officials named in a case filed in Argentina for crimes against Rohingya Muslims, the first time the Nobel Laureate has been legally targeted over the crisis.
Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted the lawsuit in Argentina on Wednesday under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” a legal concept enshrined in many countries’ laws.
The premise is that some acts – including war crimes and crimes against humanity – are so horrific they are not specific to one nation and can be tried anywhere. “This complaint seeks the criminal sanction of the perpetrators, accomplices and cover-ups of the genocide. We are doing it through Argentina because they have no other possibility of filing the criminal complaint anywhere else,” lawyer Tomas Ojea told AFP.
The lawsuit demands top military and political leaders – including army chief Min Aung Hlaing and civilian leader Suu Kyi – face justice over the “existential threat” faced by the Rohingya Muslim minority.
“For decades, the Myanmar authorities have tried to wipe us out by confining us to ghettos, forcing us to flee our home country and killing us,” said Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK).
Argentinean courts have taken up other universal jurisdiction cases, including in relation to ex-dictator Francisco Franco’s rule in Spain and the Falun Gong movement in China.
Myanmar faces mounting legal pressure in courts around the world for the 2017 expulsion of the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-11-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
more
Description:
'Drowned out by the noise of the Rugby World Cup and overshadowed by the deadly devastation wrought by Typhoon Hagibis was a meeting between Japan’s leaders and an alleged war criminal, which went largely unreported by the media and unnoticed by the public.
Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing – whom a United Nations-backed fact-finding mission found should be “investigated and prosecuted” for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine state – visited Tokyo this month at the invitation of Japan’s Defense Ministry. There he met with government ministers, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Abe reportedly told Min Aung Hlaing that the Myanmar military should address the allegations of human-rights violations in Rakhine state by implementing proposals from the government-created Independent Commission of Inquiry. Abe apparently did not mention ongoing efforts by the UN and concerned governments to carry out a genuinely independent and impartial investigation into the atrocities, according to a Defense Ministry press release..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-10-23
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Japan-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"My interest in Myanmar goes back to the 1950s when the country was called Burma. I first visited it in 1967 but did not begin focusing on it as a scholar until 2007. For the past ten years, it has been my primary policy research project at Brookings. I’ve made about 20 trips from my home in Washington, DC to Myanmar since then and have written many op-eds, research papers, and reports on the country.
Whenever I speak to a group about Myanmar, however, one of the first things I say is that if you don’t speak the Burmese language you don’t know what’s going on in this country and you can’t know. And I don’t speak Burmese. So take the words that follow with a grain of salt. They are just my best guess.
I have been asked to write about “genocide and violence that has plagued Myanmar.” I’m not an expert on genocide, but I don’t see anything in Myanmar’s post-independence (in 1948) history that looks like an attempt by the government to exterminate by death any group of people living within the country’s borders.
What I do see is a pattern of violence by the Buddhist ethnic Bamar majority (at least 60 percent of the population), with the armed forces (Tatmadaw) as its instrument, to forcibly assimilate or subjugate most if not all of the ethnic minority groups, or drive them out into neighboring countries. No other country in the world today is experiencing a civil war that has continued without interruption for this long – 70 years..."
Source/publisher:
"The Global Post" (USA)
Date of publication:
2018-01-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
more
Topic:
Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy, international relations, politics, Rohingya, diplomacy, tradition, culture
Sub-title:
In countries undergoing a transition to democracy, deeply engrained social and intellectual tendencies are often at odds with idealistic international political norms.
Topic:
Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy, international relations, politics, Rohingya, diplomacy, tradition, culture
Description:
"“The mix within her of global human rights icon and steely Burmese politician is bound to be uneasy.”
So wrote Mr William Burns, former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in his contemporaneous notes on meeting her in Myanmar (The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal. NY: Random House, p. 270).
This prescient conclusion captures the essence of Aung San Suu Kyi’s dilemma, and that of much of the Western world, in balancing international opinions and policies with Burmese political realities. She considers herself, as she has stated, a politician not an icon. She is, however, both.
This unease has been dually fostered: in the West by Myanmar’s egregiously discriminatory and disastrous policy of ethnic cleansing (some claim genocide) against the Rohingya Muslim minority, but in Myanmar itself – where anti-Rohingya sentiment is virtually ubiquitous and repressive legislation against them enforced – by her administration’s lack of economic progress for those most in need. Among the urban and intellectual community, there is further disquiet because of the use of anti-democratic legislation, some of it dating from British colonial rule and continued under military autocracies.
Although reports indicate her falling, if not failing, reputation, she remains relatively popular..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, International Relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell on Tuesday in Naypyidaw to discuss continued American support for the country’s democratic transition, a visit that came as supporters in Myanmar questioned her commitment to pledged reforms that helped her win power in 2015.
Despite U.S. concerns and efforts, analysts in Myanmar say State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has not made significant democratic progress in her three years in office as she must run her administration within the confines set out by the powerful military that directly ran the country from 1962-201.
In an interview with Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review on Oct. 23, Aung San Suu Kyi said that Myanmar’s constitution drafted by a former military junta more than a decade ago must be changed in order for the Southeast Asian nation to achieve “complete democracy,” but that this would not occur before the next general election in late 2020..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-10-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National and State constitutions, draft constitutions and amendments (commentary), Laws, decrees and regulations relating to the parliamentary process (commentary), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Is she the only one to blame?
Description:
"The Rohingya crisis has dramatically changed the portrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Western media, which once romantically touted her as “The Lady,” has now turned on her. Amnesty International withdrew the prestigious “Ambassador of Conscience” award from her. Petitions, calling for stripping her of her Nobel Prize, are being signed.
It seems that Suu Kyi is on the receiving end of most of the criticism relating to the Rohingya genocide. Considered to be one of the most respected world leaders even a few years ago, she has now become an international pariah.
But can she alone be blamed for the Rohingya genocide?
Most people aware of the civil-military dynamics in Myanmar know that the Tatmadaw is still the most powerful political force in the country. The military’s hold on power was weakened after the 2015 election, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory.
However, the role of their military in national politics was far from over. The 2008 constitution guaranteed the military an influential position in Myanmar’s decision-making process. The Tatmadaw controls the ministries of home affairs, defence, and border affairs..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication:
2019-10-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi will pay an official visit to Thailand soon where she will attend the 35th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings, according to an official announcement published in state media of the Global New Light of Myanmar Tuesday.
At the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Suu Kyi will make the trip to Bangkok.
The 35th ASEAN Summit, the second of its kind hosted by Thailand in 2019, will last from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 and the summit will discuss issues related to the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry.
Suu Kyi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with other ASEAN leaders during the summit..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"New political groups are emerging to contest Myanmar’s next election in 2020, aiming to challenge the hegemony of national civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she has been weakened by escalating ethnic conflicts and slowing economic growth. Those factors were blamed by party officials for the poor performance of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in by-elections in November, when it won only seven of the 13 seats up for grabs as regional and army-linked parties made gains.
“Now that ethnic parties have allied with one another and prepared, we can’t fully rely on the power of the party. We must try harder than before to win the trust of the people,” said Dashi La Seng, an NLD lawmaker from the northern state of Kachin, where the party lost a seat in November.
At stake is the future of Myanmar’s transition to democracy. The NLD swept to power in a landslide in 2015, winning a comfortable majority in parliament despite 25 percent of the seats being reserved for the army..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Articles on the NLD
Language:
more
Description:
"The Myitsone Dam, the largest of seven hydropower projects planned on the Upper Irrawaddy, has been shrouded in controversy since it was first mooted in 2009 when Myanmar was under military junta rule.
Estimated at an initial cost of US$3.6 billion, the project was announced as a joint venture between the China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC; now State Power Investment Corporation) and Myanmar conglomerate Asia World Company. However, in a move that surprised observers, shortly after coming to power in 2011 then President U Thein Sein announced the project would be suspended for the remainder of his term. At the time Lu Qizhou, president of CPIC, told Chinese media that he was “totally astonished” by the decision.
The issue has now been pushed onto the agenda of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which took power in 2016, but a decision has still not been made about the future of Myitsone..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Assessment of hydropower projects in Burma/Myanmar, Dams and other hydropower projects (global, regional), Dams and other projects on the Irrawaddy and its tributories, Campaigns, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has bemoaned the lack of global scrutiny on extremism and "terrorists" inside Rakhine state, where her country's army stands accused of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims.
The comments from the Nobel laureate are part of a longstanding defence of the army campaign against the Rohingya, which drove nearly three-quarters of a million of the minority into Bangladesh in 2017.
That campaign brought US sanctions on key military figures and allegations of genocide by United Nations investigators.
The Myanmar military has said its actions were necessary and proportionate to stamp out Rohingya militants - a defence Ms Suu Kyi reiterated in an interview with Japan's Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday (Oct 23).
"There are certain extremist elements who do not want peace in Rakhine... because for many terrorists, problems are what they thrive on," she said, referencing attacks by Rohingya rebels in 2017 that sparked a scorched-earth army operation..."
Source/publisher:
"The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Topic:
2020 general election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Democracy, Democratic Party for a New Society, Human Rights, Ko Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint, Military, National League for Democracy, NLD, People's Alliance for Credible Elections, Tatmadaw
Topic:
2020 general election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Democracy, Democratic Party for a New Society, Human Rights, Ko Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint, Military, National League for Democracy, NLD, People's Alliance for Credible Elections, Tatmadaw
Description:
"Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. It is supposed to be one year until the next general election. The 2015 poll was the first general election in over 50 years that was free and fair and whose results were recognized.
We will discuss to what extent the next election, due in 2020, will meet democratic norms; if it will deliver accurate results; and to what extent it will impact upon shaping free and fair elections, the essence of democracy, in the future. Executive director Ko Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint of the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), and vice chair of the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS) Ma Noe Noe Htet San join me. I’m The Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.
Looking at the history of Myanmar since 1962, the 2015 election was relatively free and fair, and its results were recognized. Though the 1990 election was free and fair, the military regime did not recognize the results. To what extent will the 2020 election be free and fair, and what will be the difficulties?
Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint: It is widely agreed that the 2015 election was aimed at power transfer. It can be said that it was the ultimate aim of the 2015 election. It is time to aim beyond that in the 2020 election.
It is important to make elections become a normal part of the political transition. So it is important to make sure the 2020 election is not postponed because postponing it will impede the political transition..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-10-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, About Aung San Suu Kyi, National League for Democracy - Policies, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Topic:
MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Sub-title:
Civil-military relations are deteriorating as opposed pro-democracy and military forces gear up for 2020 elections
Topic:
MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MIN AUNG HLAING, TATMADAW, NLD, 2020 ELECTIONS, USDP
Description:
"As a general election draws near in Myanmar, a contest that will pit pro-democracy against military forces, political parties are already preparing for the 2020 race.
On September 27, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party that won the 2015 election commemorated its 31st anniversary with a spokesman’s lament that the nation’s democracy was not yet “genuine.”
In a gauntlet-dropping pronouncement, NLD delegates gathered in the old capital of Yangon said that the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which grants vast powers to the men in green, must be amended to promote more democracy.
At the same time, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, has recently acted more like a politician than both incumbent president Win Myint and nominal national leader State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military chief, who some suspect has presidential ambitions, has recently visited and donated to Muslim mosques, Christian churches and Hindu temples, in an apparent bid to raise his grass roots profile and soften his public image..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Articles on the NLD, Elections (Burma)
Language:
more
Description:
"Since Burma embarked on its transition from a military government to a nominally civilian-led one in 2010, ?national reconciliation? has become a ubiquitous concept amongst its politicians and advocates for peace. The 2010 election was seen as an important opportunity for dialogue and cooperation, as well as a potential catalyst for peace in a country torn apart by more than 60 years of civil war. With the National League for Democracy?s (NLD) historic electoral win in 2015, hope was further renewed for rebuilding Burma into a genuine democracy and uniting its fragmented society....."
Source/publisher:
Teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2018-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National League for Democracy (NLD), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Multiple periods of Burmese history, Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general
Language:
more
Description:
"Dramatic reforms in Myanmar in recent years have transformed this long-isolated country into a more
open society, one actively seeking to re-engage with the region and the world. Competitive elections, a
lively parliament, a more vibrant media, and a growing civil society have allowed for debates on a range
of issues concerning the nature of the state and the development agenda that were previously not pos
-
sible. The landslide electoral victory of the opposition National League of Democracy under Aung San
Suu Kyi?s leadership in November 2015 created the potential to deepen the democratic transition..."
Source/publisher:
The Asia Foundation
Date of publication:
2017-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Civil Society
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
467.05 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"It?s difficult to imagine a more dramatic drop in public stature than the one Aung San Suu Kyi has experienced these past few weeks. No doubt due in large part to the overwhelming sense of betrayal felt by many, the Nobel Laureate has been harshly criticized for her country?s recent treatment of the Rohingya. Words like ?Genocide” and ?Ethnic Cleansing” have, to my mind, been aptly used to define the situation in Rakhine State. With hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border to Bangladesh, it?s difficult to imagine a more systematic and purposeful deprivation of life and human rights currently unfolding. In the bloody corpus of human suffering, this chapter should without a doubt serve as the stereotypical example of ethnic cleansing.
To a large extent, the international media agrees with that statement. And yet, though their denunciation of recent events has been forceful, the condemnation of Aung San Suu Kyi has proved a qualified one especially in more analytically minded circles. As it turns out, holding a Nobel prize inclines people, specifically those who consider themselves thoughtful, towards leniency. This is why you?ll hear arguments claiming that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has no good options, that she must appease the military leaders who are truly behind this massacre, that she risks damaging Myanmar?s fledgling democracy with too strong a denunciation of violence, and that the majority Bamar would turn against her should she speak out too strongly in defense of the Rohingya. Suu Kyi?s chief moral failing, by these accounts, is one of inaction. Her silence, rather than any active effort to tangibly harm people, is the main cause for disappointment..."
Haroon Atcha
Source/publisher:
TEACIRCLEOXFORD
Date of publication:
2017-09-25
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Ethnic Cleansing, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Since the National League for Democracy?s landslide November 2015 election victory, discussions of Myanmar?s political future have taken an interesting turn. The NLD—ruling in coalition with military and ethnic political interests—needs to maintain a delicate balance. It cannot afford to alienate the millions of voters who showed it such exuberant support. In practice, this means certain issues are deemed too hot for strong policy action. At the top of that list is the Rohingya conundrum: a political stalemate that has morphed into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The NLD is not prepared to risk its support from among Buddhist voters who resent any suggestion that the Rohingya, or other Muslims, deserve equal treatment from state authorities. The military also appears to have determined that any shift in NLD discussion of the topic threatens the red lines around its continued partnership with the elected government.
For a long time, it was possible for activists from around the world, and from inside Myanmar, to project their personal expectations onto a hypothetical NLD government. Aung San Suu Kyi was a convenient symbol of peaceful resistance to military rule. Unsullied by the pragmatics of day to day decision making, her supporters, from near and far, rejoiced in her defiant purity: her Nobel Peace Prize; her years of imprisonment; her sacrifice of self and family; her steely and dignified resolve. The world fell in love with the idea that she could lead a democratic and inclusive country, where justice would prevail, and where a popular mandate would right history?s wrongs.
Unfortunately, in this model, wishful thinking often substitutes for careful analysis of the challenges confronting every Myanmar government, as well as the specific limitations encountered by the NLD. Their coalition with the military is the engine for an evolving compromise about the distribution of power in the country, with the 2008 constitution setting the terms of the army?s continuing dominance of those areas where it perceives its core interests at stake. Nobody in a position of real power, least of all Aung San Suu Kyi, has made any serious move to question the basis of this arrangement. Where the NLD previously proposed constitutional amendments, the focus remained on clearing obstacles to Aung San Suu Kyi?s personal ambitions, rather than to deleting the military?s controlling stake. The footwork required to allow Aung San Suu Kyi?s elevation to the new role of State Counsellor goes to show that the military has few serious concerns about her capacity to challenge their mandate. In fact, they have Aung San Suu Kyi exactly where they want her..."
Nicholas Farrelly
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Myanmar?s leader has been widely condemned for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis but the blame for abuses more squarely lies with the autonomous military"...By law... Suu Kyi has no power over the wholly autonomous military, which is under the exclusive control of Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. While Suu Kyi was criticized for the ill-treatment of Rohingya even before August this year, Min Aung Hlaing visited Austria and Germany in April, Russia in June, India in July and Japan in August.
On each visit he received a red carpet welcome while the Rohingya crisis, not to mention the wars against Kachin, Palaung and Shan ethnic minority rebels in Myanmar?s north, was apparently never broached..."
Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times"
Date of publication:
2017-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2017-10-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The people of Myanmar have always been able to capture complex issues in pithy, often humorous, ways. One joke currently doing the rounds is that, after decades of trying to get into the driver?s seat of the rickety old bus that is modern Myanmar, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has discovered that the steering wheel is not connected, the accelerator does not work and the passengers all want to go in different directions.
Aung San Suu Kyi was never going to meet the expectations of her supporters, both in Myanmar and abroad. They were quite unrealistic, given all the problems she inherited on taking power in March. Every sector of government begged for drastic reform and increased resources. Added to that, several new challenges have arisen over the past eight months that have stretched her inexperienced administration almost to breaking point..."
Andrew Selth
Source/publisher:
"The Interpreter"
Date of publication:
2016-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2017-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"After one year in power, Aung San Suu Kyi has gone all but missing from the public ear. Her voice, long known for inspiring her people, is heard in only a handful of public appearances or daily private meetings with officials and foreign dignitaries, while there is nearly no interaction with the media.
When she does occasionally address a public audience, she repeats abstract concepts such as "national reconciliation," "rule of law" and "peace." But what is even more noticeable in her speeches is a commanding and pedagogical rhetorical style underpinned by a puritanical political ideology. The latter shows a world view that values individual fulfillment of ta-wun (duties or responsibilities) rather than exercise of akwin-ahyeh (rights or entitlements)..."
Mary Callahan
Source/publisher:
Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication:
2017-03-29
Date of entry/update:
2017-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"It is not surprising that at the end of the first year of the National League for Democracy government of Myanmar, led by State Counselor and party chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi, commentators have been quick to summarize the year negatively. After all, newspapers and blogs are more avidly read if they bring news of fresh disasters, not the mundane, nitty-gritty, of the hard slog of governing. However, in the case of Myanmar there are other causes for the several tales of woe that have emerged in recent days.
The first is that the NLD had no experience of governing before taking power five months after the 2015 elections. Moreover, the NLD is not a political party of the kind we normally think of. It had no articulate and developed set of policy alternatives and no carefully conceived strategies of implementation, nor did it have an ideological drive to give it momentum to govern. Rather, after being suppressed for two decades, it emerged as a disjointed organization with only one goal -- replacing the military government. This it has only partially achieved, thanks to the artful way the army structured the constitution to ensure that it maintained the ability to control the pace of political change.
Second is the lionized position of Suu Kyi..."
Robert H. Taylor
Source/publisher:
Nikkei Asian Review
Date of publication:
2017-03-30
Date of entry/update:
2017-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, National League for Democracy - Policies, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Twelve months ago, Aung San Suu Kyi was appointed State Counsellor of Myanmar, becoming the de facto leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Government that swept to power in (relatively) free and fair elections in 2015. Over the past several weeks, both the government and Suu Kyi herself have been subject to searching reviews by Myanmar-watchers and other commentators.
To varying degrees, most have expressed disappointment with the NLD?s performance during its first year in office. Even allowing for the unrealistically high expectations held both within and outside the country, the new government has failed to deliver on its promises. Foreign observers have been particularly critical of Suu Kyi?s repeated refusal to intervene on behalf of the mostly stateless Muslim Rohingyas..."
Andrew Selth
Source/publisher:
"Lowy Interpreter"
Date of publication:
2017-04-27
Date of entry/update:
2017-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, National League for Democracy - Policies, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
English
more
Description:
"This essay compares the human rights views of two Asians who in their own ways have been influential not only on their own fellow countrypersons but whose influence extend beyond their national borders. It is submitted that both Lee Kuan Yew1, a Singaporean and Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese, have made their impact internationally And I further submit that their influence and impact are at least partly due to their ideas though of course, in the case of Lee Kuan Yew his influence is perhaps primarily due to Lee?s role in the "miraculous transformation in Singapore?s economy while maintaining tight political control over the country ... [resulting in] Singapore?s per capita GNP [being] now higher than that of its erstwhile colonizer Great Britain".
The comparison of Aung San Suu Kyi?s and Lee?s views on human rights and democracy should be of some relevance and interest in the light of increasingly substantial contemporary literature on democratisation and international law..."
Myint Zan
Source/publisher:
Newcastle Law Review, Vol. 2, pp. 49-69, 1997
Date of publication:
1997-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2014-08-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
190.44 KB 227.28 KB
more
Description:
"After two years of delicate accommodation, Myanmars military backed government and the main pro-democracy opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) are on a collusion course ahead of general elections scheduled for next year. An NLD-led campaign launched last month to amend the 2008 constitution is openly challenging the militarys political power and testing political stability ahead of the pivotal polls.
The national drive for charter change aims broadly to accelerate the countrys still tentative transition from decades of authoritarian military rule towards democracy. In particular, the campaign is
geared towards diminishing the role of military appointees to parliament who currently control 25% of its seats. The campaign however is not geared towards changing article 59(f), which bars NLD leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from assuming the presidency because she was married to a foreign national."
Larry Jagan
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2014-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Multiparty elections - theory, practice, analysis, monitoring and assistance, Articles on the NLD, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"During the third week of May, Aung San Suu Kyi?s supporters gathered for two mass rallies in Rangoon and Mandalay, Burma?s two biggest cities. (The demonstration in Mandalay, the most important commercial city in upper Burma, drew an estimated 25,000 supporters.) Both rallies called for amending Article 436 of the 2008 constitution, which essentially gives the military a veto over any amendments. The article stipulates that any amendments require the support of more than 75 percent of members of the parliament, where unelected military representatives control a quarter of the seats. Aung San Suu Kyi?s camp have to get rid of this provision before they can amend the article that prevents her from holding the presidency. There?s no doubt that Burma?s constitution is deeply flawed. The excessive power that it grants the military and the obstacles it places in the way of amendment are only two of the most obvious problems. Ideally, of course, these provisions can be changed or abolished. In reality, matters are a bit more complicated..."
Min Zin
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy"
Date of publication:
2014-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2014-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National and State constitutions, draft constitutions and amendments (commentary), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"For many years, we have learned about cryptic events in Burma/Myanmar from rumors. We had hoped that this would change with the elimination of censorship, and there has been much progress. But rumors still abound and decision-making is often still opaque.
According to some reports, Aung San Suu Kyi has said that if the 2008 Myanmar constitution is not changed to allow her to compete for the presidency, her party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - will boycott the 2015 elections. Others in the party say this is not true. She is currently prohibited from being (indirectly) elected by the Burmese parliament (Hluttaw) for the presidency or vice presidency because family members hold foreign passports..."
David I Steinberg
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-03-07
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National and State constitutions, draft constitutions and amendments (commentary), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Pass?e l?euphorie de sa lib?ration qui ne devait pourtant rien aux pressions internationales, il faudra
bien se rendre ? l??vidence : la fin de l?assignation ? r?sidence d?Aung San Suu Kyi le 13 novembre
dernier n?ouvre pas une nouvelle ?re de la transition d?mocratique birmane. L?opinion internationale a
trop vite c?d? aux sir?nes romanesques qu?inspirent la ? Dame de Rangoun ?, sa ? silhouette fr?le ?
et ses ? fleurs de jasmin dans les cheveux ?. Ces ?lans orientalistes ranimant de vieilles perceptions
coloniales d?une Asie myst?rieuse et incarn?e par cette femme iconifi?e dont d?aucuns voudraient tant
qu?elle porte nos derniers espoirs d?mocratiques, masquent profond?ment les r?alit?s politiques de la
Birmanie d?aujourd?hui. Car malgr? la ferveur populaire qu?elle suscite toujours dans son pays, le
champ d?action politique d?Aung San Suu Kyi est des plus limit?s. Un constat s?impose et nous
l?aurions (presque) oubli? : l?arm?e birmane demeure en position de force et se pr?pare ? dominer,
sous une forme plus indirecte, le paysage de la prochaine d?cennie, au sein duquel la place d?Aung
San Suu Kyi sera des plus r?duites. Que peut donc proposer l??g?rie de la d?mocratie birmane afin de
revitaliser son combat et de r?pondre aux attentes de ? son ? peuple ?..."
Renaud Egreteau
Source/publisher:
CERI- CRNS
Date of publication:
2010-12-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Francais, French
more
Description:
A biography from her birth to May 2002.
BurmaInfo (Japan)
Source/publisher:
BurmaInfo (www.burmainfo.org)
Date of publication:
2002-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Japanese
more
Description:
Abstract: No living foreigner has shaped contemporary U.S. attitudes toward
a single country more than Aung San Suu Kyi. As the seemingly
vulnerable international avatar of democracy, she has effectively determined
the parameters of possible U.S. policy choices. Although her Burma/Myanmar
specific goals and those of the U.S. overlap, they are not contiguous.
That country is a ?boutique? issue in U.S. politics – important but not of the
highest priority. The U.S. will face difficult policy decisions toward Burma/
Myanmar following the formation of the new Burmese administration after
the elections of November 7, 2010.
Manuscript received 9 July 2010; accepted 5 August 2010
Keywords: Burma/Myanmar, United States, policy, house, senate
Steinberg, David
Source/publisher:
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 29, 3, 35-59
Date of publication:
2010-08-00
Date of entry/update:
2010-12-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
USA-Burma relations, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
Parade Magazine, Cover Story, January 19, 1997..." In the exotic southeast Asian nation of Burma, a country of 46 million people, a battle of wills of heroic proportions is taking place. On one side is a brutal military dictatorship known as SLORC (State Law and Restoration Council). On the other is a slim, 51-year old mother of two named Aung San Suu Kyi, who is leading her people in a nonviolent struggle for democracy..."
David Wallechinsky
Source/publisher:
by
Date of publication:
1997-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2010-11-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Recent events have raised concerns about Aung San Suu Kyi?s health -- and questions about how the pro-democracy movement would cope without her...
Let?s imagine a situation: Burma without Aung San Suu Kyi. Undoubtedly, the ruling generals would see this as a dream come true. But for the majority of Burmese, it would come as a great disappointment to lose the leader of the country?s pro-democracy movement.
Aung San Suu Kyi at her Inya Lake home in 1996
(Photo: Nic Dunlop/Panos)
Suu Kyi may be a prisoner, but she still has immense power. She strikes fear into the hearts of heavily armed men, while giving moral strength to the powerless. She is the hope of the people of Burma, who have struggled to survive under the boot of their military rulers for the past 46 years..."
Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 10
Date of publication:
2008-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-11-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
The Irrawaddy asked ethnic leaders how they view Aung San Suu Kyi and her leadership in the country?s almost two-decade long pro-democracy movement...
?We ethnic members have studied her from the very beginning. Having listened to her speech at the Shwedagon rally in 1988 and met with her o?n several occasions, we have come to believe that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a person, and a leader, who will accept reality.
?But we?ve never expected a political leader who is completely flawless. Since the popular uprising in 1988, there have been weaknesses among politicians who have played a leading role in Burma?s politics—including me. As we have weaknesses, we are still failing to achieve a democratic nation. So, should we blame her alone for the failure? We all are responsible for that.?...
—Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the Arakan League for Democracy party, based in Rangoon; —Shwe Ohn, a leader of the banned United Nationalities League for Democracy, who attended the 1947 Panglong conference, based in Rangoon; —Cin Siang Thang, chairman of the ethnic Zomi National Congress party, based in Rangoon; —Mahn Sha, secretary of Burma?s oldest and strongest rebel group, the Karen National Union
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 4
Date of publication:
2007-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-05-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
While Burma?s generals deny Aung San Suu Kyi?s influence, she still remains a relevant and uniting political force... "
...Suu Kyi is still alive and remains spiritually strong, but the fight for democracy in Burma has not been an easy or happy o?ne. Whatever hope remains is focused o?n her iron resolve in standing true to her principles..."
Aung Zaw
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 4
Date of publication:
2007-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-05-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
Former UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail sought to negotiate between the opposition party and the military regime from 2000 until 2005. He recalls his meetings with Burma?s most famous prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Razali Ismail
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 4
Date of publication:
2007-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-05-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
New biography offers few insights into her thinking but gives a useful overview of her place in present-day Burma...
Justin Wintle?s biography of Burma?s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi does not really bring the reader into direct contact with the world?s best known prisoner of conscience until the second of its four parts—and the first is by far the longest. Some will say he is guilty of padding, others that it is impossible to make any sense of the intractable mess that is contemporary Burma without an appreciation of the historical context..."
Dominic Faulder
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No.6
Date of publication:
2007-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2008-05-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
Eine kontroverse Diskussion zur Wirksamkeit internationaler Sanktionen (UNO; USA; EU; ILO) in Burma/Myanmar nach den Aufständen von 1988; der Einfluss Aung San Suu Kyis; die Rolle westlicher NGOs; Fallstudien zu Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, Südafrika
A study on the efficacity of intnernational sanctions after the protests of 1988; the influence of Aung San Suu Kyi; the role of western NGOs; case studies of Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, South Africa
Sina Schüssler
Source/publisher:
Zentrum der Konfliktforschung der Philipps-Universität Marburg
Date of publication:
2006-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2007-09-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Sanctions, About Aung San Suu Kyi, News about the ILO and Burma/Myanmar, General articles on activism
Language:
German, Deutsch
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Description:
Aung San Suu Kyi - Nahaufnahme einer Ikone
Charlotte Wiedemann
Source/publisher:
Freitag Jg. 2002 Nr. 35
Date of publication:
2002-08-23
Date of entry/update:
2006-03-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Deutsch, German
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Description:
"When Jim McNalis returns home from his occasional trips to Burma he takes not only memories. Packed away in his suitcase is the very essence of Burma—samples of its soil.
Jim McNalis at work in his Florida studio
Jim, a talented artist and former Walt Disney art director, adds the soil to clay in his Florida studio and fashions sculptures of the Burmese personalities he most admires.
Chief among them is a bust of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
?The first thing I see every morning as I enter my studio is my cast of the sculpture of Aung San Suu Kyi,? he told The Irrawaddy. ?She seems to stare reflectively through the window and out over the water, reminding me on a daily basis that there is no such thing as neutrality; that if one person?s freedom is denied, the freedom of all people is in jeopardy.?..."
Jim Andrews
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 3
Date of publication:
2005-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2005-08-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
Arlene Gregorius looks back at the life and career of Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi
Arlene Gregorius
Source/publisher:
BBC
Date of publication:
1998-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
An important article by Timothy Garton-Ash
Timothy Garton-Ash
Source/publisher:
New York Review of Books
Date of publication:
2000-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
63.26 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi?s husband Michael Aris is gravely ill with cancer. Now it is up to the junta to decide whether they will have a last reunion.
Kyaw Zwa
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7, No. 3
Date of publication:
1999-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
"20 July 1995 will mark the sixth anniversary of the detention under
house arrest of prisoner of conscience Aung San Suu Kyi. 11 July 1995
marks the end of Aung San Suu Kyi?s period of detention as stipulated
by the laws of the government of Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, and leader of the National League for
Democracy (NLD), has been detained by the military government of
Myanmar, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), for the
peaceful expression of her political views. Amnesty International,
which has called for her immediate and unconditional release since the
beginning of her detention, now requests the SLORC to unconditionally
release Aung San Suu Kyi in accordance with Myanmar law..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (ASA 16/08/95)
Date of publication:
1995-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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Description:
6 years of reporting by the BBC.
Khin Kyaw Han (compiler)
Source/publisher:
BBC World Service
Date of publication:
2002-12-12
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
2.27 MB
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Description:
ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams' trip to this landmine-infested country included a meeting with fellow Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ms. Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate, which she received with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, visited Burma this week, carrying personal messages of support from fellow Nobel Peace laureates Rigobera Menchu Tum, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Oscar Arias, Joseph Rotblat, Norman Borlaug, Betty Williams, Mairead McGuire, to Burma's country-bound Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first visit to Ms. Suu Kyi by another Nobel Peace Laureate since she received the award while under house arrest in 1991.
Nonviolence International Southeast Asia (Tr. Michiyo Kato)
Source/publisher:
Nonviolence International Southeast Asia
Date of publication:
2003-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Japanese, English
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Description:
Die Aufhebung des Hausarrests von Aung San Suu Kyi am 6. Mai 2002, mögliche Ursachen, neue Herausforderungen.
Aung San Suu Kyi?s release from house arrest, possible reasons, challenges.
Ulrike Bey
Source/publisher:
Asienhaus
Date of publication:
2002-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Deutsch, German
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Description:
"It is time to start trusting Aung San Suu Kyi?s instincts as a politician and stop putting blind faith in her image as an icon of the pro-democracy movement".
Source/publisher:
Editorial, "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 5
Date of publication:
1999-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
English
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