July 10, 2016

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi: Falling star or beacon of hope

 For nearly 30 years, Aung San Suu Kyi starred as arguably the world's most prominent and revered political prisoner, a courageous champion of human rights and democracy in her military-ruled nation.

As she completes her first 100 days in power, the Nobel Prize laureate's halo has all but vaporized on the global stage: Suu Kyi is being assailed for ignoring the plight of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims, failing to stop atrocities against other ethnic minorities and abetting moves to erase from collective memory the bloody history of the generals she replaced.

Some have even labelled her a "democratic dictator," an increasingly aloof one-person show who surrounds herself with close friends and loyalists without nurturing a vitally needed new generation of leaders. Gone are the days when the elegant hostess would charm visitors over informal teas and reduce hard-bitten reporters to voicing soft-ball questions. (Courtesy of bigstory.ap.org)

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