Suu Kyis image now in tatters
News & Trends •
another person at the same meeting said there was shouting and a charged atmosphere1 the jailing of two reuters journalists shreds what remains of nobel laureate aung san suu kyis reputation as a rights champion critics say after she failed to come to their defence or speak up for the persecuted rohingya minority1 during her long years of house arrest under the former junta which choked the media inside myanmar it was foreign correspondents who carried her message of peaceful defiance to the outside world1 glowing profiles burnished her image with comparisons made to the dalai lama nelson mandela and martin luther king1 suu kyi remains adored inside myanmar. supporters of her democracy battle say she has limited control over the military which ceded full control in 2015 after almost 50 years in power1 but her response to the rohingya crisis has sent her international reputation into a tailspin1 former friends and supporters have looked on aghast at her lack of criticism of last years military campaign against the rohingya1 un investigators last week said that campaign was pursued with genocidal intent1 mondays conviction of two reuters journalists wa lone and kyaw soe oo and their seven-year sentence has sent a chill through myanmars already embattled press community1 yet throughout the trial suu kyi has been unmoved by calls to intervene or even criticise the court case1 bill richardson a us diplomat and until recently a suu kyi confidante alleges that she denounced the two journalists when he tried to raise their plight in person1 suu kyis response was filled with anger referring to the journalists as traitors the former new mexico governor told afp1 shortly after the set-to in january richardson quit his position on an international advisory body into the rakhine crisis labelling it a whitewash1 suu kyi was once a staunch advocate for the free press and a darling of the foreign media1 in that heated exchange i wouldnt dismiss that the word was used said retired thai lawmaker and ambassador kobsak chutikul who was secretary for the panel and who also later resigned1 it would have fitted the emotions and sentiments at the time he added1 since sweeping to power three years ago suu kyis relationship with the press has been fraught1 prosecutions of journalists and media intimidation more redolent of the junta years have been common1 around 20 journalists were prosecuted in 2017 many under a controversial online defamation law1 at the same time suu kyi has been accused of backing misinformation and distorted reports about the rakhine crisis1 state media published by the suu kyi-controlled ministry of information has continuously echoed the military line rejecting allegations of atrocities against the rohingya as fake news1 that has put her at odds with a mountain of evidence and an international community calling for justice1 to say that aung san suu kyis star has faded is a massive understatement said matthew burgher from free speech advocacy group article 191 suu kyis defenders say her hands are tied by an army that still controls all security matters as well as 25 percent of parliamentary seats1 the stateless rohingya are also a deeply unpopular cause among the buddhist-majority public in myanmar where islamophobia has surged in recent years1 that reality gives suu kyi little political incentive to defend the muslim minority or reporters who write about their plight1 but some analysts note a transformation in suu kyi in recent months from trying to avoid talking about them to supporting the militarys kickback against terrorists1