Tutu accuses Suu Kyi of ignoring ethnic violence
ANTI-Apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has condemned Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in her country.
Critics have accused the Burmese leader – and Nobel Peace Prize winner – of turning a blind eye to the violent persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
The 85-year-old South African archbishop, who was also awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, said the ‘unfolding horror’ had forced him to speak out against a woman he considered ‘a dear sister’.
In an open letter to Ms Suu Kyi, he wrote: ‘Your emergence into public life allayed our concerns about violence being perpetrated against members of the Rohingya. But what some have called “ethnic cleansing” and others “a slow genocide” has persisted – and recently accelerated ... My dear sister: if the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar [Burma] is your silence, the price is surely too steep.
‘We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people.’
Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, has also said the ‘world is waiting’ for Suu Kyi to act.
The Rohingya comprise some 1.1million people in Buddhist-majority Burma and have long complained of persecution. The UN estimates that up to 300,000 Rohingya could be displaced into neighbouring Bangladesh due to ‘clearance operations’ by the Tatmadaw, Burma’s armed forces. The army says it is rooting out ‘terrorists’ among the Muslim population.
Burma’s government claims about 400 people have been killed so far, though UN officials estimate the death toll to be more than 1,000.
Ms Suu Kyi defended her response for the first time on Thursday, but did not refer to the Rohingya specifically. Instead, she said: ‘We have to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens.’