Myanmar I May 2017
The rise and fall of hope in Myanmar
The scene would have been unlikely a year ago. Tens of thou-
sands of demonstrators filled the streets to protest a decision
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to name a new
bridge for her father.
“Recognize the will of the local ethnic people,” protesters
chanted last month as they marched along the waterfront of
this historic city in southern Myanmar.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate
once celebrated as a champion of democracy, was insulting
the Mon people, the dominant ethnic group in the area, protest
leaders said, by naming the bridge for a Burmese leader infa-
mous here for steamrollering over their rights.
“This is not a democratic process,” said Min Zarni Oo, gen-
eral secretary of the Mon Youth Forum. “This is a big issue
for the local people. The government doesn’t value ethnic di-
versity.”
No one expected governing to be easy for Ms. Aung San
Suu Kyi, who became the country’s de facto leader a year ago
after her party won a landslide election that ended more than
a half-century of military rule.
She made it a top priority to end the long-running ethnic
insurgencies that have torn the country apart, but her anemic
peace effort has proved fruitless so far, and fighting between
government forces and ethnic groups has increased.
War crimes against Rohingya
Several thousands people are said to have
been killed in the on going fighting between
the former allies. The muslim minority is on
the defensive in all parts of Myanmar, which
has sparked contempt all over the world,
with many calling for Aung San Suu Kyis
resignation and some, even wanting her to
be put on trial for war crimes.
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.isms I May 2017
.isms I May 2017
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