Do Not Use the Identity Rohingya Says Suu Kyi

I blogged a few months ago about my fear that Suu Kyi would peddle to the Buddhist crowd in Myanmar rather than being truly inclusive or at least pluralistic.  Today I have some confirmation of my fears.  Suu Kyi has told a UN Special Rapporteur that the government will avoid using "controversial terms" (read the article I reference here).  Last month Suu Kyi even told U.S. Secretary of State Kerry that Myanmar needed space to deal with this issue and emotive terms should be avoided.  Apparently being part of a 1.1 million person ethnic and religious minority means your national identity is controversial.  Sorry Rohingya, you do not get an identity in Myanmar.

For my two cents, what troubles me most is that Suu Kyi does not even seem to grasp the level of hypocrisy in her actions and those of the government she represents.  The same people who were the opposition without a voice in civic society are now denying not just a voice, but an identity to others in civic society.  Democracy does not mean an end to problems Suu Kyi, it means the beginning of social interaction and negotiation/coercion.  Government is about allocating resources, it is about determining property rights, etc.  In a democracy this action can get messy, but to be a democracy you have to recognize the voices in your population.  Sorry Rohingya, a once great advocate of democracy and legal equality has failed you and in doing so has dimmed my hopes for Myanmar.