Amnesty International has stripped of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honour, rights body said on Monday (Nov 12).
In a statement, the UK-based organisation said that it withdrawn the Ambassador of Conscience Award “in light of the Myanmar leader’s shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for”.
“Aung San Suu Kyi’s failure to speak out for the Rohingya is one reason why we can no longer justify her status as an Ambassador of Conscience,” it quoted Amnesty Secretary General Kumi Naidoo.
Suu Kyi’s denial of the gravity and scale of the atrocities means there is little prospect of the situation improving for the Rohingyas living in limbo in Bangladesh or for those who remain in Rakhine, he said.
“Without acknowledgement of the horrific crimes against the community, it is hard to see how the government can take steps to protect them from future atrocities.”
The rights body said since Suu Kyi became the de facto leader of Myanmar’s civilian-led government in 2016, her administration has been actively involved in the commission or perpetuation of multiple human rights violations.
“Amnesty International has repeatedly criticised the failure of Suu Kyi and her government to speak out about military atrocities against the Rohingya population in Rakhine State, who have lived for years under a system of segregation and discrimination amounting to apartheid”, reads the statement issued on Monday.
The rights organisation said that Suu Kyi has also failed to “use her influence and moral authority to condemn military abuses to push for accountability for war crimes or to speak out for ethnic minority civilians” in the states of Kachin and northern Shan.
“To make matters worse, her civilian-led administration has imposed harsh restrictions on humanitarian access, exacerbating the suffering of more than 100,000 people displaced by the fighting,” it added.
The statement said, Amnesty chief Naidoo wrote Suu Kyi on Saturday (Nov 11) to inform that the 2009 award is being revoked.
“As an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, our expectation was that you would continue to use your moral authority to speak out against injustice wherever you saw it, not least within Myanmar itself,” wrote Naidoo.
“Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defence of human rights. 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.”