Tag: Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Ghim Moh Hawker Centre; Treated To Local Delights

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was hosted to breakfast by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Friday (Dec 2) at Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, as the country is looking to upgrade its wet markets and build a hawker centre in Yangon.

Clad in a traditional Myammar dress, Ms Suu Kyi was treated to local favourites – carrot cake, laksa, tau huay, putu mayam and chwee kueh – ahead of the wrapping up of her three-day visit to Singapore.

She was accompanied by Myanmar’s Union Minister for Commerce U Than Myint and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin. Also present were the National Environment Agency’s CEO Ronnie Tay and Singapore Ambassador to Myammar Robert Chua.

The stall owners at Ghim Moh market said they were informed of the visit two days earlier, and some of them came as early as 4am to prepare the dishes.

Mdm Letchmi Veerapan, who has been serving putu mayam for the past 20 years, told Channel NewsAsia: “”This is my first time meeting Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, I’m really honoured and happy that she chose our dish to try. I came here at 4am to prepare the putu mayam for her. I’m really very honoured to do that.”

The sentiment was echoed by 66-year-old Lee Sah Bah, stall owner of Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh. “I came early to prepare because she’s our VIP,” she said.

The Myanmar State Counsellor is not the only one interested in Singapore’s hawker culture. Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein visited Singapore in July to study how Singapore manages its hawker centres, and went to Tiong Bahru Market and Ci Yuan Hawker Centre then.

Over the last two days, the Nobel Laureate was hosted to dinner by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and called on Acting President J Y Pillay, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. Ms Suu Kyi also visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where an orchid hybrid was named in her honour.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

December 2, 2016
Myanmar Nationals: Singaporeans Don’t Understand The Rohingya Issue

The visit by Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely covered by local media.

A video by Channel NewsAsia on Aung San Suu Kyi inspecting the guard of honour at the Istana generated much reponse from locals and Myanmar national alike.

Some locals pointed out that Aung San Suu Kyi was disrespectful as she did not acknowledge the state colours when she walked past them.

Others called on her to address the proverbial elephant in the Istana – the genocide of the Rohingya. They wanted Aung San Suu Kyi to learn from Singapore.

This elicited protestations from Myanmar nationals who claim that Singaporeans do not understand the Rohingya problem.

To convince Singaporeans, one even gave an impromptu lesson in Myanmar history.

This was followed by a concerted outpouring of love for Aung San Suu Kyi.

So there you have it.

Can the Rohingya genocide be resolved soon?

Source: www.facebook.com/ChannelNewsAsia

December 1, 2016
Aung San Suu Kyi Calls For ‘Peace And Reconciliation’ In Burma But Refuses To Address Rohingya Muslim Genocide

Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has vowed to work towards “peace and national reconciliation” but has refused to address accusations Rohingya Muslims in her country may be the victims of crimes against humanity.

Ms Suu Kyi gave no specific details on how her government intends to resolve the violence and discrimination the long-persecuted Muslim minority face.

“We do not want our country to be unstable. But we’ve had a long history of disunity within our nation,” she said, addressing senior business representatives in Singapore.

“So national reconciliation is unavoidably important for us. It’s not a matter of choice. It’s unavoidable.”

She added: “We have to achieve peace and national reconciliation that our country may be able to progress, and that those who wish to invest in our country may find the right amount of confidence.”

Accounts of the military having gang raped, tortured and murdered members of the Rohingya community caused thousands of angry Muslims take to the streets across Asia in protest.

Around 30,000 have fled their home in Rakhines and analysis of satellite images by Human Rights Watch found hundreds of buildings in Rohingya villages have been burned.

The Burmese government has denied allegations of abuse. Officials say the army is hunting “terrorists” behind raids on police last month.

Despite having lived in Burma for generations, Rohingya Muslims are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the most oppressed people in the world.

Since communal violence broke out in 2012, more than 120,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes and crammed into squalid camps guarded by police. There, they are denied healthcare and education, and their movements are heavily restricted.

Ms Suu Kyi was scheduled to visit Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, after Singapore, but postponed the trip in the face of public protests and a thwarted bomb plot against the Burmese embassy.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will take part in a rare rally at the weekend to protest the crackdown on Rohingyas, an official from his office said Tuesday.

Ms Suu Kyi led her party to victory in elections last year but, barred from becoming president by a junta-era constitution, instead holds a specially created post of state counsellor.

She appointed fellow Nobel laureate former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a special commission to investigate how to mend bitter religious and ethnic divides in impoverished Rakhine.

Mr Annan began a week-long trip to Burma on Tuesday.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

December 1, 2016
UN To Myanmar: Your Reputation Is At Stake Over Rohingya Crisis

UNITED NATIONS — The reputation of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in Myanmar is at stake amid international concerns over how it is dealing with violence in the country’s divided northwest, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday (Nov 29).

The conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing across the border to Bangladesh amid allegations of abuses by security forces. The crisis poses a serious challenge to Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, who swept to power last year on promises of national reconciliation.

In a statement, the U.N.’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng, said the allegations “must be verified as a matter of urgency” and urged the government to allow access to the area.

“If they are true, the lives of thousands of people are at risk. The reputation of Myanmar, its new Government and its military forces is also at stake in this matter,” he said.

“Myanmar needs to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and to the human rights of all its populations. It cannot expect that such serious allegations are ignored or go unscrutinised,” he said.

Soldiers have poured into the area along Myanmar’s frontier with Bangladesh, responding to coordinated attacks on three border posts on Oct. 9 that killed nine police officers.

Myanmar’s military and the government have rejected allegations by residents and rights groups that soldiers have raped Rohingya women, burnt houses and killed civilians during the military operation in Rakhine.

The violence, the most serious bloodshed in Rakhine since hundreds were killed in communal clashes in 2012, has renewed international criticism that Ms Suu Kyi has done too little to alleviate the plight of the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and access to basic services.

“The government needs, for once and for all, to find a sustainable solution to the situation of the Rohingya Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar, a solution that is in full compliance with the international human rights standards that the government has pledged to respect,” Mr Dieng said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

December 1, 2016
Singaporean Buddhist: Rohingya Issue An International Humanitarian Issue, Not Just A Muslim Problem

Admin hi,

I’m Singapore born and bred Chinese who became a Buddhist over 8 years ago. Been following your posts on the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Some of the images and videos were very hard to take. As a Buddhist, it pains me to read that some of the inhumane treatment on the Rohingya were allegedly carried out by militant Buddhists. It made me question my faith but I’ve become better for it as I’ve been able to rationalise that these deplorable acts are not what Buddhism is about. Moreover, the Buddhism practiced there is not the same as what’s practiced here.

Trust me, we all want to help. Me and my other non-Muslim friends, we all want to help. That’s only natural after looking at the suffering. But we all don’t quite know how. Nevertheless, we cannot lose hope.

I want to reassure all my Muslim friends we suffer with you on this Rohingya issue. The Rohingya are human beings just like us. Their lives should not be toyed with, with such appalling disregard.

Their suffering is not a Muslim problem. It is a problem for the world, for humanity. All humankind should roundly condemn the actions of the Myanmar government.

In the past, the world marginalised Myanmar because of its disregard of democracy and its mistreatment of Aung San Suu Kyi. What the Rohingya is going through is far worse. The world cannot turn a blind eye just because there is some semblance of democracy in the country now.

The world can, and should do better.

In separateness lies the world’s greatest misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength.

#savetheRohingya #SingaporeansforRohingya #solidaritywithRohingya

Lotus

[Reader Contribution]

November 30, 2016