Hero must speak up

The Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar has long suffered discrimination, persecution and violence. But as a new horrific wave of brutality has swept over Rakhine state, where most of the country’s Rohingya live in poverty, the question that has been asked over and over must now be shouted: When will Aung San Suu Kyi — the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, icon of democracy and de facto leader of the country — stand up for the democratic rights of this persecuted group?

The government has responded to an attack by Rohingya insurgents with a sweeping scorched-earth campaign, killing hundreds of Rohingya civilians and burning their villages. The violence has triggered an exodus of more than 120,000 desperate people fleeing on foot through mud and over hilly terrain, mostly to neighbouring Bangladesh, where conditions are grim if not quite as dangerous. The million or so who remain face an increasing risk of food shortages and additional violence, according to Amnesty International.

The stateless Rohingya are seen by the Buddhist majority and the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, as little more than trespassers in the country.

Regardless of what one thinks of the insurgency, surely this much is clear: It’s unconscionable for a military to respond to attacks by killing civilians and obliterating villages. And it’s Suu Kyi’s responsibility to speak out.

A group of her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates called on her to do this months ago. In the past few days, Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai took to Twitter to condemn the “tragic and shameful treatment” of the Rohingya and ask Suu Kyi to do the same:

“The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting.”