Dictator Watch
April 15, 2017
In her March 30, 2017 State of the Union speech, Aung San
Suu Kyi said:
"So, if you all 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."
Fair enough. Suu Kyi has proven herself unfit to lead
Burma, also known as Myanmar, in countless ways, foremost among them:
She refuses to speak out against and otherwise work to
end the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Burma Army and the Police
against the country's ethnic minorities.
These include at present the genocide
of the Rohingya in the West and the Civil War against the Kachin and other
groups in the North, and in prior years against the Shan, Karenni and Karen.
She has signaled her intention to block a United Nations investigation into the
atrocities being committed against the Rohingya.
She acts as an autocrat in her own right, ignoring advice
from dedicated civil society groups, and opposing protests by the public when
they attempt to protect their rights.
She has supported the military regime's racial
prejudices, including by refusing to field Muslim candidates for Parliament
under the National League for Democracy banner.
She has helped business cronies of the regime, and taken
donations from them, at the same time failing to implement a program to reverse
the appalling poverty that the people of Burma endure.
Suu Kyi has been in power for a year, and some people are
saying that she should be given more time. But she has actually been a Member
of Parliament already for five years, and she has been a
"pro-democracy" leader for twenty-nine. What has she really done? Why
has she refused to use her voice to energize the people to oppose the generals?
If she hasn't done anything strong and decisive in all this time, is there any
reason to expect that she, or Burma under her leadership, will change?
Aung San Suu Kyi should fulfill her pledge and step down
from her positions as State Counsellor, MP, and head of the NLD. She should
retire from the political scene. Burma needs new democratic leadership, now.
DICTATOR WATCH: www.dictatorwatch.org
Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org