LONDON: Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, called on her fellow laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to condemn the “shameful” treatment of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, saying “the world is waiting” for her to speak out.
Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar in August, in the biggest political challenge facing the country’s leader Suu Kyi, who stands accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.
“Over the last several years, I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment,” Malala said in a statement on Twitter. “I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same.
“The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting.”
Activists from Indonesia, home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, on Saturday called on the Nobel committee to withdraw Suu Kyi’s peace prize during protests outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta, state news agency Antara reported.
The recent violence in Myanmar was set off by a coordinated attack on Aug. 25 on dozens of police posts and an army base by Rohingya insurgents. The ensuing clashes and a major military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people.
Myanmar officials blamed the Rohingya militants for the burning of homes and civilian deaths but rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh say a campaign of arson and killings by the Myanmar army aims to force them out.
Malala, 20, came to prominence when a Taliban gunman shot her in the head in 2012 after she was targeted for her campaign against efforts by the Taliban to deny women education. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
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Malala calls on fellow laureate Suu Kyi to condemn Rohingya treatment
Malala calls on fellow laureate Suu Kyi to condemn Rohingya treatment
China’s Xi urges ‘central role’ of UN in call with Brazil’s Lula
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to protect the “central role” of the United Nations in international affairs, urging his Brazilian counterpart on Friday to help safeguard international norms, state media reported.
The comments come after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for his new “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum.
Although originally meant to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory and has sparked concerns Trump wants to rival the United Nations.
While China and Brazil have both been invited to join Trump’s new grouping, neither has confirmed participation.
Xi told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their Friday morning phone call that in the current “tumultuous” international situation, China and Brazil “are constructive forces in maintaining world peace and stability,” according to a readout published by state broadcaster CCTV.
“They should stand firmly on the right side of history... and jointly uphold the central role of the United Nations and international fairness and justice,” Xi said.
European leaders have expressed doubts over Trump’s norm-busting proposal, with some viewing it as an attempt to potentially sideline or even replace the United Nations.
While in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that once complete, the board “can do pretty much whatever we want,” while adding that “we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.”
Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that “no matter how the international situation changes, China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core.”
Brazil has also expressed skepticism about the Board of Peace, saying it could represent “a revocation” of the United Nations.
Lula’s special adviser Celso Amorim told Brazilian media that “we cannot consider a reform of the UN made by one country.”
During Trump’s global tariff onslaught last year, China and Brazil sought to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system.
Xi told Lula in August they could set an example of “self-reliance” for emerging powers.
China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, engages with the international body even as it has objected to what it terms internal interference.
Advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch have accused China of seeking to undermine the United Nations by reducing contributions to the organization’s rights budgets, establishing an alternative international mediation body and blocking activists from UN events.
The comments come after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for his new “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum.
Although originally meant to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory and has sparked concerns Trump wants to rival the United Nations.
While China and Brazil have both been invited to join Trump’s new grouping, neither has confirmed participation.
Xi told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their Friday morning phone call that in the current “tumultuous” international situation, China and Brazil “are constructive forces in maintaining world peace and stability,” according to a readout published by state broadcaster CCTV.
“They should stand firmly on the right side of history... and jointly uphold the central role of the United Nations and international fairness and justice,” Xi said.
European leaders have expressed doubts over Trump’s norm-busting proposal, with some viewing it as an attempt to potentially sideline or even replace the United Nations.
While in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that once complete, the board “can do pretty much whatever we want,” while adding that “we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.”
Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that “no matter how the international situation changes, China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core.”
Brazil has also expressed skepticism about the Board of Peace, saying it could represent “a revocation” of the United Nations.
Lula’s special adviser Celso Amorim told Brazilian media that “we cannot consider a reform of the UN made by one country.”
During Trump’s global tariff onslaught last year, China and Brazil sought to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system.
Xi told Lula in August they could set an example of “self-reliance” for emerging powers.
China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, engages with the international body even as it has objected to what it terms internal interference.
Advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch have accused China of seeking to undermine the United Nations by reducing contributions to the organization’s rights budgets, establishing an alternative international mediation body and blocking activists from UN events.
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