Rohinga Muslims genocide

No one claims the British government is always right, I'm one of many who regularly criticise what I believe to be poor social policy-austerity. We are a free country, complaints, criticisms, demands that things are done differently are our norm. The blame for what's happening in Myanmar lies with its rulers, its army. The British army is involved in supporting, training or advising the armies of many countries where subjects don't have our freedoms. The doesn't mean we continue to put responsibility for the way the training is used on ourselves.
To do so excuses those who are committing murder, rape and genocide.

POGS - I am beyond disappointed in Aung San Suu Kyi and to be honest. She knows exactly what is / has been going on and she either cannot / will not do anything to stop it.

I share your feelings POGS.

I saw the news tonight and she seemed completely cold and without feeling, but as others have said, how much pressure is she facing? She is in denial of what is happening. She may indeed be a mouthpiece for army generals.

Footage of persecuted families trying to rebuild their lives - building make-shift shelters from plastic sheets on wooden frames, which will be as good as useless in monsoons - brought tears to my eyes. They have nothing. Such dreadful suffering. How can Buddhists be so savage and unfeeling?

dj - Blaming Michael Fallon and the British government and now the Israelis (really?!) is merely a distraction

Agreed dbDB, but it's an entirely predictable response from that left-wing poster. No surprises there.

I think she will be in danger of assassination if she does speak out. The army is in charge now, not the government.
And whatever people say, we did train them.

I honestly have no idea - my post was just to address the balance a little - she suffered for years to try and bring democracy and I think that should be remembered despite her present behaviour. I feel bitterly disappointed and let down by her as many do but I couldn't have been as brave and stoical as she was for all those years

Do you really think she is in charge, or do you think she is just a mouthpiece for the army?

I don't think people got it wrong about her at the time - she endured dreadful hardship and personal tragedy. Now many feel very very disappointed in her but ironically she wouldn't have been in the position to disappoint if she hadn't fought so long and hard in the first place. I'm not being an apologist for her but I think we should acknowledge what she fought for and endured for so long

In the speech I saw she was asking what was wrong for the people to flee - asking them to tell her!! Do you think she has no access to Western news where these poor people have been interviewed?

I have many friends abroad who are Muslim and believe me they are doing a great deal to help, also the Turkish pm has been sending help. The trouble is we will just stand back and do very little, after all there is no financial gain t be had like oil.

The UN? Toothless Tiger comes to mind! If you didn't laugh, you'd cry!

I think that the attitude of ASSK to the obvious persecution/genocide of these poor people is the reason that a lot of us become so cynical as we get older. Deeply disappointing, but sadly not 100% surprising!

Well Aung San Suu Kyi gave her National Address and it appears she is not shifting her view. She is still in denial.

I remain of the opinion 'some' people will find ways to detract from her attitude , refrain from mentioning her name regarding the Rohinga because they 'feted' Aung San Suu Kyi such a short while ago.

She has no doubt confused many both in the UK and Internationally.

Considering the fact the Rohinga Muslim ethnic cleansing / genocide situatution has been known about for years I am of the opinion she cannot fail to be aware but I am beyond disappointed in Aung San Suu Kyi and to be honest. She knows exactly what is / has been going on and she either cannot / will not do anything to stop it.

It does make my blood boil to think of the incessant need there was to 'fete' Aung San Suu Kyi and it is a timely reminder sometimes we get it all wrong .

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41315924

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/aung-san-suu-kyi-burma-myanmar-rohingya-horror-state-persecution-refugee-crisis-a7954561.html

Now it will be interesting to see what the United Nations will do. Given they haven't done anything for years I won't hold my breath.

I wouldn't hold your breath. I think it's the old problem of power corrupting. Let's face it, its happened again and again down the ages. A case of ' Et tu Brutus'!

I hope she listens to him.

It certainly is g.a, and says it all.

An open letter from Desmond Tutu to Aung San Su Kyi
This was published last week and is well worth reading.

I think all right minded people will be deeply saddened and bewildered at ASSK's apparent indifference to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohinger Muslims in Myanmar. Her attitude is indefensible and deeply worrying. As for who supplied arms or trained soldiers, the bottom it line is the army who uses these weapons against its own people who are entirely responsible.

dj - Blaming Michael Fallon and the British government and now the Israelis (really?!) is merely a distraction - the real culprits are the men ordering the troops to commit the violence and the men carrying out those orders.
I do not understand why ASSK is not speaking out against the genocide - she is a woman of influence. And as an earlier poster said - where do Saudi and other rich & influential Islamic countries stand? Why aren't they speaking out or doing something?

Religion

My views on the arms trade seem less relevant here than my despair and anger at the treatment of Rohinger Muslims by the Myanmar Army. I heard ASSK describe the reports of murder, rape, burning villages etc as fake news. Absolutely shocking and she ought to be honest.

This year we spent half a million in aid money bringing Burmese soldiers over here and training them.
We sell lots of weapons to Israel who sell them on to Burma. That is against UN regulations.
We also sell planes directly to Burma.
At the moment there is the biggest arms trade fair in the world. It's being held in London as usual.
Fallon thinks it's going to be fantastic when we leave the EU as we will be able to sell even more arms to even more countries. In fact he wants us to become the biggest arms exporter in the world.
I don't want that, do you?

Bangladesh is having to house and feed 400,000 Burmese refugees. I wonder how much assistance is given by the immensly wealthy Arab states who should offer charity to their fellow Muslems.

I get a bit tired of being blamed for all the world's ills - a journalist on the radio said the current genocide was the fault of the British because we drew the border when Burma became independent - but that was 70 years ago!
And as for selling arms - the UK has had a trade embargo on weapons to Burma for at least 5 years - the Burmese army gets most of its weapons from Russia, China, Ukraine - and some small arms from Germany & Italy and it also manufactures some itself.

They are trained by our army. Perhaps that's why it hasn't been on the news that much.
It's like Saudi Arabia. We train them, sell them the weapons, then have to pay for the chaos caused.

The Burmese military and the Buddhist gangs of thugs are absolute swine.