My two cents worth - Aung San Suk YI

"Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate ..... Such claims were rejected by Brig-General Khin Yi, Chief of Myanmar Police Force (MPF). On 18 ... 27 May 2008: House arrest extended for another year, which is illegal under both international law and Burma's (Miyanmar) own law."

Wikepedia..

Today this icon figure of a fighter for democracy and elected leader of the country, is in the limelight as she faces the International Court of Justice  accused of turning a blind eye over the fate of the Rohingya at the hands of the Burmese Military and the Burmese themselves. She must have felt like a cucumber in having to deal with the issue right from the start as either way she rolls she is bound to be cut. In Malay we have a saying, "Telan mati Emak, ludah mati bapa," which means if you swallow you kill your mother, and if you spit it out, you kill your father. The democracy she is set to defend is at an infant stage as the country has been under military rule for decades and the generals that held the power were determined to keep it by tooth and nails. Although the people are mostly behind her they are still not one hundred percent with her as yet due to years of being under the domination of the military junta and thus any misjudgment on her part could swing the whole country back into the military state.

Suk Yi is no Nelson Mandela nor is she Mahatma Gandhi as she was not ready to go the whole nine yards in facing the powerful and influential generals who still wields a strong hold over the nation; she has to compromise. She has to buy her time until the people are awakened enough to stand by her as a whole in facing what confronts her. If she had taken any stance against the tragedy of the Rohingya she would have jeopardized her position to make any changes in her short rule. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country and as such the threat of the Muslim Rohingya is yet another factor that has to be contented with. Although Buddhism abhors the taking another life of a sentient being, the Burmese people were influenced by those in power to take matters into their own hands. The Rohingyas occupies the Rakine region where there is an abundance of natural resources to be exploited by the powers that be and this too is a contributing factor towards the carnage that had fallen over the Rohingya.

There are other factors that can be pointed out other than these major issues, however it is not right to blame the newly elected leader for not taking a more drastic action against these genocidal events. The people may be behind her but the military is still under control of the Generals any choice she had to stop the bloody mess would pitch the people against the military which means the death of innocent Burmese and dismantling of the hard worn democratic party. Stuck between the devil and the deep, time was all she had and time it seems is not on her side a she faces a worldwide condemnation for her lack of action. Her only recourse in justifying the fate of the Rohingyas is that it is the fight against terrorist and this is a lame excuse in the eyes of the world. Let us hope that she can redeem herself and her country at the International Court of Justice with a better reasoning for er sake and for the people of Myanmar. It is not just Suk Yi or the Burmese people that are being judged here but the fate of democracy itself is at stake.

#Mynamar, #Aung San Suk Yi, #International Court of Justice