As Myanmar’s tiny four decades of military rule slowly made their way into democracy, the world turned to Aung San Suu Kyi, a great fighter. It was a cold November evening, and the barricades on University Avenue separated from them. Until then, the impatient, luncheon-clad followers eagerly rushed to Suchi’s house, 400 feet away. They shouted slogans for their bravery. Not only the country but also the world sang praises loudly. Leaders inside and outside praised Burma as a democracy.
Although Suu Kyi declared that she was not Margaret Thatcher or Mother Teresa, people wanted her to do something socially and politically necessary in Myanmar. Of the 21 detainees (1989-2010), she became the face of popularity after spending 15 years under house arrest. Suu Kyi was revered by some as Gandhiji or Nelson Mande Lay and others as Princess Diana, but later proved otherwise.
Despite being active in political life in the country since the end of the arrests, no ideas were born out of them for new ideas or for the persecuted religious sects. The National League for Democracy, founded by Suu Kyi, was then threatened with dismissal. Even George Soros, who paid millions to bring Myanmar back to normal life, never got a chance to see Suu Kyi.
Once again, they remained half-hidden, as they had been when they were arrested. The world realized that if earlier the slogan was for democracy, then voter politics was their only mind and word. Though their own release was assured, the other leaders who had been imprisoned did not get a chance to see the outside world through them. The 75-year-old did not say who her successor would be. This style change, which started slowly, was rapid when it reached its final stage.
In the 2015 elections, its own organization, the National League for Democracy, came to power with a dream-like victory. Although her husband, Michael Aris, was a foreign national and could not run for president, Suu Kyi worked with the ruling party’s adviser and foreign minister to control the administration. He maintained his monopoly on many things, from the term of the Prime Minister to education.
But under the new constitution, the military, which holds 25 percent of the seats, will have departments, including home and defense. Despite the rule, the decision was left to the military. In other words, everything in Myanmar happened as the military wanted. No economic reforms or progress have been achieved. The poor who make up the bulk of the country have never escaped.
Even more shocking was the military-led genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority for decades in the Rakhine region of western Myanmar. Rohingya villages and houses set on fire. Women gang-raped. Those who could not cross the border and make a living were massacred.
The world has asked Suu Kyi to do something for the Rohingya, one of the world’s most marginalized people. The need to prepare the Rohingya for resistance, however, was hidden in the silence. The ruler, who did not end there, told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague that the situation in the Rakhine region was “extremely difficult to resolve.” Suu Kyi also said that the allegation of genocide and torture would only give a misleading and incomplete picture of the incident.
Suu Kyi, who for a short time proved to be a staunch nationalist, sought refuge only in racial identity. Therefore, they were not bothered by what the poor Rohingya minority in Myanmar experienced. Only the daughter of Aung San Suu Kyi, the great leader of Burmese nationalism, was promoted throughout nationalism. So people are still ready to call the slogan for the index.
It is estimated that seven lakh Muslims crossed the border into Bangladesh during the Rohingya genocide. Since the military directly led the genocide, if nothing could be done for them, Suu Kyi could have resisted, albeit verbally. That did not happen either.
Their words when they came to power were heavens of hope. At that time, they said, there would be no more homeless and hopeless people in this multi-ethnic country. But they ignored the violence and kept the protests away from international conferences and without facing the media. Thus, he escaped by saying that there would be no atrocities if he came in front of anyone.
But the all-seeing world did not leave them alone. Suu Kyi has won numerous awards during her imprisonment. From the 1991 Nobel Prize to the Amnesty, Sakharov, and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. In it, Amnesty International withdrew its award. They can take comfort in the fact that they will not lose the Nobel Prize because it cannot be withdrawn.
The world is waiting to see how long Suu Kyi will remain in solitary confinement without political knowledge as the country returns to its old military rule. The current announcement that the army will be completely out of control for a year over allegations of rigging in last year’s elections should be miraculous so that it does not last long. The telephone lines are already idle. The Internet is also on strike. Nothing can be seen on television. That is, the world no longer knows what is going on there.
A little needle history
Daughter Suu Kyi was only two years old when her father, Aung San, was assassinated in 1948, after independence from British colonial rule. The teenager, who accompanied her mother, Do Kin Ki, when she became ambassador to India in 1960, came to Oxford for higher education four years later. There they studied philosophy, politics, and economics. There he met his fellow passenger, Michael Aris. They traveled to Japan and Bhutan and later to the UK. Alexander and Kim were also present.
Suu Kyi, who returned home in 1988 to care for her ailing mother, was in the midst of major political problems. Tens of thousands were on the streets demanding independence. They took to the streets together and were imprisoned. Although Suu Kyi’s NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, the military did not relinquish power. Six years under house arrest in Rangoon. Later in 2000, they were placed under house arrest. It’s really good to be in control of what’s going on inside and out, and it’s more than just good words.
– .
