Today, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a motion to revoke the honorary citizenship of Aung San Suu Kyi — one in a succession of denunciations of the de jure leader of Myanmar over her handling of the Rohingya crisis.
Myanmar, or Burma, itself still seems to be one of the most unknown countries in the world. A country fraught with civil conflict so long no international relevance can grow.
I believe Myanmar represents a case of a true shadow government where nobody can exactly tell you who holds power, or what types of checks and balances there might be.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a figurehead.
This person spent fifteen years under house arrest for her beliefs which is more than most will ever say. It was only after the persistent work of activists drummed up enough international pressure that she was released. It’s hard to rectify the image of that person with some of the stances she’s taken now.
International pressure freed her and led to the military-backed 2011 reforms, but I’m not sure anyone stuck around long enough to see what those were really going to be. Did anyone think it was going to be all good if you throw Kyi back to the people you freed her from? To take the junta at its word, and to think later Kyi was going to have real power, and fix everything singlehandedly from the freshly-created position of ‘State Councillor’? I don’t see any reason not to believe that the people still struggling for reform in Myanmar aren’t doing so with a gun to the back of their heads.
How can you make one person the scapegoat for the inactions of the international community? Did we send peacekeepers? Not just for the Rohingya crisis, but ever? If we did, if obviously wasn’t enough, or they weren’t empowered. If we didn’t, why not? If we sanctioned Myanmar, it as well clearly didn’t affect lasting positive change, and almost certainly would have had a negative effect on the regular people before those in power. I haven’t seen the nations of the world lining up to truly help Myanmar except when it’s the cause celebre.
In Kyi’s case, it might have been better to leave the country and never return when she was given the chance, rather than stay and become a puppet. Ultimately though, revoking her honorary awards may end up being as meaningless to her and the people of Myanmar as when she was given them. I can judge Kyi only as a person who compromised their beliefs — perhaps a person not willing to die for them.
Unless substantial international attention and resources are poured into Myanmar over a long period of time, I would expect a continuation of its troubled history; Aung San Suu Kyi will only be available to take the blame for so long.