Wednesday, March 22, 2023
British Herald
Advertisement
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
Home World Asia

Lost idol – New wave of Myanmar youth activists look beyond Suu Kyi

Editorial Bureau by Editorial Bureau
December 1, 2018
0
Lost idol – New wave of Myanmar youth activists look beyond Suu Kyi

FILE PHOTO:Myanmar press freedom advocates and youth activists hold a demonstration demanding the release of jailed Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in Yangon, Myanmar September 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar youth activist and television host Thinzar Shun Lei Yi would once have called herself one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s greatest fans. Now, she is one of her most vocal critics.

You might also like

Ma Ying-jeou, former Taiwan leader will visit China

North Korea launches long range missile hours before Tokyo summit

More clashes in Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest

The 27-year-old belongs to a small but high-profile group of liberal activists, many former die-hard Suu Kyi supporters, who are growing increasingly disillusioned with the administration they voted into power with sky-high hopes three years ago.

“I lost my idol, I’m confused, frustrated and lost,” said Thinzar Shun Lei Yi, who hosts an ‘Under 30’ talk show on a popular local website.

“Most of the activists and youths are now thinking: ‘What is next’, ‘What will happen?’, ‘What can we do?’ At this stage, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is going her own way and nobody can intervene, and she won’t listen to civil society organisations,” she said, using the honorific for women in Myanmar.

While Suu Kyi continues to inspire devotion among many ordinary Burmese, the emergence of a dissenting youth movement – driven by anger over her handling of ethnic minorities, including the Muslim Rohingya, as well as curbs on the media and civil society – presents a new challenge for her administration.

At stake is the future of Myanmar’s transition towards democracy after years of military rule. With a general election looming in 2020, the country’s first civilian government in decades is confronted by growing divisions among activists who once coalesced around her National League for Democracy party.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said the party was trying to win over young people, increasing the budget for education and supporting vocational training programmes.

“The youth and the people expected a lot from our government,” he said. “We couldn’t live up to their expectations, we admit. But we are doing our best.”

Suu Kyi took power in 2016 after a landslide election win, vowing to continue democratic reforms and end the country’s long-running civil wars.

Since then, the administration has come under pressure over its response to a military crackdown against the Rohingya minority that the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing” with “genocidal intent”, as well as faltering peace talks with ethnic armed groups and a stagnating economy.

FREE SPEECH

Activists say the civilian government has also become increasingly authoritarian, failing to use its overwhelming parliamentary majority to scrap colonial-era laws used to stifle dissent, while tightening restrictions on civil society.

In recent months, they have staged several protests, including an anti-war march in the commercial capital of Yangon in May that ended in scuffles. A total of 17 people were charged with unlawful protest, including Thinzar Shun Lei Yi. Their trial is ongoing.

“Sensitive issues are banned, and protesters arrested and beaten,” she said. “The National League of Democracy, the party using the name of democracy, must respect democracy and human rights.”

According to free speech organization Athan, which means ‘Voice’ in Burmese, 44 journalists and 142 activists have faced trial since the Suu Kyi government took power.

The group’s founder, poet and activist Maung Saung Kha, is one of them. He was also among the protesters charged alongside Thinzar Shun Lei Yi in May. Four months later, in September, they both helped organise another demonstration, this time for free speech.

Facing the crowd, Maung Saung Kha – who is still an NLD member – donned the orange shirt traditionally worn by his party’s lawmakers and draped a green jacket resembling military garb over it. Armed with a copy of the state-run daily newspaper The Mirror, he began beating journalists gathered nearby.

“The government has failed to use its power to protect people’s rights,” he told Reuters.

Myo Nyunt, the party spokesman, said the government was cooperating with non-governmental organisations, but their activities needed to be examined case-by-case.

“If it is not related to security or not a divisive issue among ethnics, we accept them,” he said. “We are going forward to democracy so we acknowledge the role of NGOs, but we have concerns that NGOs are being influenced by sponsors instead of being independent.”

“ACKNOWLEDGE ROHINGYA”

While she has no control over the military, Suu Kyi has faced international criticism for failing to defend the Rohingya, more than 730,000 of whom fled a sweeping army cracking in western Rakhine state in 2017, according to U.N. agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces.

Myanmar denies almost all the allegations of atrocities made by refugees, saying the army was carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists.

While many among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority revile the Rohingya, the young activists offer a rare sympathetic voice.

“We acknowledge Rohingya. We totally denounce the fact that they are referred to as ‘Bengali’,” said Maung Saung Kha, referring to a term commonly used in Myanmar to imply the Rohingya are interlopers from Bangladesh, despite a long history in the country.

“We haven’t seen any acknowledgement or punishment for the things that happened,” he said. “The refugees will not come back as long as these people think of them as less than humans, and that it is not a crime to kill them.”

Khin Sandar, another young activist facing unlawful protest charges, spent months campaigning for the NLD ahead of the 2015 election but lost faith in Suu Kyi over her handling of the Rakhine crisis.

Her family was affected in a wave of communal violence in 2012, when not only Rohingya but members of the Kaman Muslim minority, who also face discrimination but unlike the Rohingya are considered Myanmar citizens, were driven from their homes. They live in crowded internal displacement camps outside the Rakhine state capital Sittwe and are subjected to severe restrictions on movement.

In a speech after last year’s violence, Suu Kyi said all residents of Rakhine “have access to education and healthcare services without discrimination”.

“My own nephew and nieces are still living in the Sittwe camps and they don’t have those rights,” said Khin Sandar. “I was shocked. How can she say that in her speech?” Afterwards, she said, she quit her job as researcher for an NLD lawmaker.

While the youth activists represent only a small segment of Myanmar society they are increasingly influential in the grassroots activism scene, while their protests and public comments have attracted significant attention from media and from their vast social media followings.

Mostly in their 20s and 30s, they highlight the gulf between Myanmar’s young population – the median age is 27 – and its ageing leadership, comprised of mostly men in their 60s and 70s.

“Myanmar is a very conservative country, these young people especially from Yangon are now challenging that,” said Myat Thu, a political analyst from the Yangon School of Political Science.

“In order to have a revolution of ideas, not many people need to know. They will spread it gradually.”

(Reporting by Shoon Naing and Poppy McPherson; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Share30Tweet19
Editorial Bureau

Editorial Bureau

Recommended For You

Ma Ying-jeou, former Taiwan leader will visit China

March 20, 2023
Ma Ying-jeou, former Taiwan leader will visit China

Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou will visit China next week. In an effort to defuse hostilities between the self-governing island and the mainland, according to a spokesman. Ma...

Read more

North Korea launches long range missile hours before Tokyo summit

March 16, 2023
North Korea missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul

North Korea conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, ahead of the Tokyo summit. Just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan...

Read more

More clashes in Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest

March 15, 2023
Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan face riot police officers during clashes, in Lahore, Pakistan

Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan threw bricks at police in Lahore, Pakistan. Police have been besieging the 70-year-old opposition leader’s house in the eastern city...

Read more

Honduras to establish relations with China, end of ties with Taiwan.

March 15, 2023
Honduras under her administration is opening diplomatic relations with the People´s Republic of China.

Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China. Which would imply severing relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave...

Read more

Japan, S. Korea summit must overcome history to renew ties

March 14, 2023
Japan, S. Korea summit must overcome history to renew ties

Leaders of South Korea and Japan will meet in Tokyo this week, hoping to resume regular visits after a gap of over a decade and overcome resentments that...

Read more
No Result
View All Result
With the Southgate effect England hopes to win Euro 2024

With the Southgate effect England hopes to win Euro 2024

March 22, 2023
JOE BIDEN

Joe Biden teases 2024 run at the awards ceremony for artists

March 22, 2023
China’s Xi, Japan’s Kishida end visits to Russia and Ukraine

Xi and Kishida end their visit to Russia and Ukraine

March 22, 2023

Tags

amazon australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus cases coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong ICC Men's T20 india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London new zealand north korea Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain T20 T20 World Cup taiwan thailand Trump turkey UK Ukraine usa
British Herald

Top News in World: Read Latest News on Sports, Business, Entertainment, Blogs and Opinions from leading columnists.

CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Articles
  • Asia
  • Brand Feature
  • Business
  • Climate & Environment
  • Companies
  • Crypto
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Daily Roundup
  • Economics
  • ECONOMY
  • edel
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Finance
  • Financial Markets
  • Fintech
  • Health
  • IN UK 01
  • IN UK 02
  • Investing
  • Latin America
  • Market
  • Middle East
  • nsp
  • Oceania
  • Opinion
  • Pharma/BioTech
  • Politics
  • Reviews
  • Science & Technology
  • Sport
  • Sustainability
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • UK
  • Uncategorized
  • USA
  • Videos
  • World

BROWSE BY TAGS

amazon australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus cases coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong ICC Men's T20 india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London new zealand north korea Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain T20 T20 World Cup taiwan thailand Trump turkey UK Ukraine usa

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • Coffee Table Book
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?