Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize laureate said she does not want to inflame ethnic tensions by pointing the finger at one community or the other, speaking at the WEF in Naypyitaw on June 6.
Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize laureate said she does not want to inflame ethnic tensions by pointing the finger at one community or the other, speaking at the WEF in Naypyitaw on June 6.
Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi defended her silence on ongoing ethnic and inter-communal conflicts in Myanmar on Thursday, stating that she did not want “to point fingers at particular communities.”
“No, I don't feel hostage to the political situation of the day,” said Suu Kyi at a press conference during the 22nd World Economic Forum in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw. “I am afraid of aggravating the situation by saying one community is wrong and making them feel targeted.”
She stressed the need to target specific actions, rather than communities, and “that again goes back to the rule of law.”
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has attracted criticism for her failure to speak out against continuing ethnic conflicts across Myanmar. She previously defended her stance by saying that her focus was on building a unified society rather than making headlines.
Earlier in the day, the democracy icon did make headlines when she affirmed her wish to become president of Myanmar in 2015. If elected, Suu Kyi said that she would “target the greatest needs of the people, see what can be done and then go about it.”
Myanmar’s current constitution must be amended for Suu Kyi to become president – clauses citing her marriage to a foreigner and her age prevent her from becoming an incumbent. She said amending Myanmar’s constitution is “the most difficult process in the world,” requiring a 75 percent parliamentary approval and a subsequent 50 percent approval by eligible voters in a referendum.
And noting that Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government is now three years into its reforms, Suu Kyi said it is falling short of its promises.
“The government could do more. We’ve concentrated enough on good intentions,” Suu Kyi said. “Three years is not a short period. Three years is a long time for someone who can’t get three square meals in a day.”
She said that the most pressing matter for the government to address is poverty alleviation – improving the lives of Myanmar’s estimated 70 percent rural population and the urban poor in Yangon – by leveraging job creation. She noted that while Myanmar’s extractive industries are booming, the sector brings notoriously limited employment opportunities.
She added that foreign investment has been slow in improving the woeful domestic job market. Suu Kyi said that Myanmar’s people want jobs and job creation the most, not simply “handouts”.
In her own constituency alone, 75 percent are unemployed.
“There isn’t that much investment coming in. I think it’s more investigations than investments. But it is a frenzy, and a frenzy is never attractive,” she said.
Myanmar’s people also want access to water, roads, electricity, education, and health services-in that particular order, she said.
“I believe that without rule of law we can’t get anywhere, and we can’t get economic development either. How safe are the investments going to be?” Suu Kyi said.
“Let’s stop the frenzy a little bit.”
