London-based global human rights organisation, Amnesty International on Monday stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honour over the de facto Myanmar leader’s “indifference” to the atrocities committed by the military against Rohingya Muslims. Amnesty International said it was revoking the Ambassador of Conscience Award it gave Suu Kyi in 2009 while she was still under house arrest.
This is the latest in a string of awards the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has lost since Myanmar’s military drove 720,000 Rohingya out of the Buddhist majority country in what the United Nations has called an act of genocide.
“Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights,” Amnesty International Chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi released by the group.
“Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you.” Amnesty said.
Suu Kyi was hailed as a freedom fighter who stood up to her country’s feared military junta while spending 15 years under house arrest. Her plight received further attention when she was visited by Hillary Clinton who was US Secretary of State in 2011.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept into power in a 2015 election which brought hope to many that Myanmar would correct injustices inflicted on many people in over 50 years of brutal military rule. However, her tenure has been marred by a failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims who have been massacred in their thousands.
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