Can anyone help Suu Kyi?

Can anyone help Suu Kyi?

There are questions that beg answers from Myanmar's elected government. If there is no genocide, then why have 500,000 people fled their homes? If there is nothing to hide, why can't journalists go and see for themselves without strict supervision? Why did Aung San Suu Kyi postpone a planned United Nations visit to Rakhine state last week?

Bad weather and lack of security are not viable reasons -- ask any war correspondent. Yes, there are armed Rohingya militants who have attacked and killed innocent Buddhist, Hindu and even Muslim residents, but did their actions justify the scale of the atrocities subsequently perpetrated by the Myanmar military?

The military says it has killed nearly 400 militants since violence erupted at Border Guard Police bases in northern Rakhine on Oct 9 last year. Worse attacks followed in August this year, when around 150 militants stormed 20 police posts and killed 71 people, including 12 security personnel. As a result, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), also known as Harakat al-Yaqeen, or "Faith Movement", has now come to the attention of the world.

The International Crisis Group reported last December that the group is led by a "committee of Rohingya emigres in Saudi Arabia and is commanded on the ground by Rohingya with international training and experience in modern guerrilla war tactics". It's a claim the militants have denied, as any terror group would do.

Now the military is trying to justify hundreds of deaths, of militants and others, as a proportional response to terror, while denying what the UN human rights chief has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Yes, many in the international community are disappointed that Aung San Suu Kyi has not spoken out more forcefully or acted to rein in the military. Some say her Nobel Peace Prize should be taken away. This sort of talk is not helpful. Could she really defy the military without risking repercussions -- up to and including a coup?

She knows there is so much to do in Myanmar and a long struggle lies ahead. We are pressing the wrong person. And in any case, conditions in Rakhine, and for the Rohingya, have been deteriorating for some time.

Yes, it is very disappointing that Aung San Suu Kyi has not acknowledged the ongoing military slaughter targeting Muslim civilians, or spoken out against senior leaders from her party such as Tin Oo, Nyan Win and Win Tin, who have made racist comments -- sadly, this reflects the prevailing view of most of their countrymen -- against the Rohingya.

Some say she should have done more to counter the impact of the ultra-nationalist movement that arose in October 2012 and features hate-spewing Buddhist monks in its vanguard. These racists continue to bray for a tougher military crackdown on "Bengali terrorists" even as the civilian death toll rises.

Under Myanmar's deeply flawed 2008 constitution, the military is not subject to civilian oversight and retains extensive power over the government and security, including the Defence, Home Affairs and Border Affairs ministries. It holds a guaranteed 25% of parliamentary seats, constituting an effective veto over constitutional amendments. Ominously, it is authorised to assume power in a national "state of emergency". A Rohingya crisis that spins out of the control of the elected government could fit the definition.

Yes, Aung San Suu Kyi should be ashamed for not stepping up but does anyone really know her motive for not doing so? The motives of the Buddhist nationalists are clear and we are quite certain she does not share those odious views.

Maybe it is time to start pressing the right people or lending more help instead of trying to ignore the problem next door. The whole of Asean should be working to raise awareness and press the NLD, as well as the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party, and especially the military, to stop the killing now.

The least we can do is remind the jingoists in Myanmar that Buddha teaches that nirvana is available to everyone and Buddhists should show love to all the beings in this world, not hatred and prejudice.

Making a scapegoat out of The Lady will only play into the hands of the military, which could easily retake control if the ball is put out of play by the elected government. The carnage in Rakhine is already damaging the country's economic prospects, which could further ruin Aung San Suu Kyi's reputation, and open the door wider for a new junta.

Erich Parpart

Senior Reporter - Asia Focus

Senior Reporter - Asia Focus

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