Suu Kyi’s critics slam Burmese government for lack of progress

MAWLAMYINE, Burma — No one expected governing to be easy for 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. Even so, her first year has been a disappointment to many — as fighting between government forces and ethnic groups has increased and protests have abounded.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate once celebrated as a champion of democracy, made it a top priority to end the long-running ethnic insurgencies that have torn the country apart, but her peace effort has proved fruitless so far.

Just last month, tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets to protest a decision by Suu Kyi’s government to name a new bridge for her father — who is accused of steamrollering over the rights of the Mon people, the dominant ethnic group in the area.

“Recognize the will of the local ethnic people,” protesters chanted as they marched along the waterfront of Mawlamyine, a historic city in southern Burma.

“This is not a democratic process,” said Min Zarni Oo, general secretary of the Mon Youth Forum. “This is a big issue for the local people. The government doesn’t value ethnic diversity.”

Further tarnishing Suu Kyi’s record are reports that the military has raped and murdered members of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in western Burma, but Suu Kyi has said little on the matter and done even less.

Her government’s growing suppression of speech on the Internet seems perverse, her opponents say, for a onetime democracy icon who spent 15 years under house arrest. Among the public, patience is wearing thin.

“She doesn’t have support like before,” said Zar Zar Oo, 31, a vendor selling bottled water at the Rangoon train station. “We loved her so much before, but it seems like she doesn’t do enough for us. For now, we are in trouble.”

In a televised speech to the nation commemorating her first year in office, Suu Kyi struck a defensive note, acknowledging her government’s lack of progress and saying people could choose another leader if they were unhappy with her.

“If you think I am not good enough for our country and our people, if someone or some organization can do better than us, we are ready to step down,” she said.

Some voters apparently listened. In parliamentary by-elections last weekend, her National League for Democracy won just nine of 19 seats.

Suu Kyi, 71, cites building roads as one of her biggest accomplishments. Party spokesman Win Htein said her government had doubled spending on health care and education, though he provided no details. And the economy has continued to grow as the country emerges from isolation under military rule.

But Richard Horsey, a political analyst and former United Nations official, said the growth had slowed and that foreign investment had dipped significantly. Washington’s lifting of economic sanctions last year has yet to translate into stronger trade, investment or job creation, he said.

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration has not offered any compelling economic vision,” he said.

In Rangoon, people are waiting for Suu Kyi to deliver results, said Myat Suu Mon, 28, a department store clerk. The cost of taking the rundown bus to work has doubled, she said, while her pay has remained the same.

“Support is less than before because people’s expectations were too high,” she said. “But in reality we don’t see things changing here.”

Zaw Htay, Suu Kyi’s spokesman, acknowledged that progress had been slow but said the government faced complex problems, such as ethnic conflicts and clashes with the Rohingya, that had been years in the making.

“It’s very complicated,” he said in an interview. “We are not magicians.” Information for this article was contributed by Saw Nang of The New York Times.