TOKYO: Embattled leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed Monday to increase transparency over her government’s handling of the Rohingya crisis while pitching for foreign investment in Myanmar ahead of a regional summit in Tokyo.
Suu Kyi, once garlanded as a global rights champion, has seen a sharp fall from grace due to her failure to speak up following a brutal military crackdown on Myanmar’s Rohingya minority.
“I’m ready to acknowledge that we have challenges to face particularly with regard to the Rakhine and with the struggles we have on the peace front,” Suu Kyi said in a speech before Japanese businessmen, referring to Myanmar’s westernmost state where the minority dwelled.
“We are not hiding this fact from our friends,” she said.
In the speech ahead of the summit in Tokyo, Suu Kyi said she was aware that peace and stability in her country were necessary for attracting foreign investment.
“We understand that peace, reconciliation, harmony, stability, rule of law, human rights — all these have to be taken into consideration when we are looking for more investment, for greater economic opportunities,” she said.
“We wish to be very open and transparent to our friends,” she said. “If you have concerns, if you have worries, please discuss this openly with us.”
A brutal military campaign that started last year drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh, where they now live in cramped refugee camps — fearful of returning despite a repatriation deal.
Suu Kyi’s supporters say her hands are tied by a still powerful military, which controls a quarter of parliament’s seats and three ministries.
On Tuesday she is to hold a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who chairs the regional summit drawing Southeast Asian leaders.
Myanmar leader Suu Kyi promises ‘transparency’ over Rohingya atrocities
Myanmar leader Suu Kyi promises ‘transparency’ over Rohingya atrocities
- Suu Kyi has seen a sharp fall from grace due to her failure to speak up following a brutal military crackdown on Myanmar’s Rohingya minority
- A brutal military campaign drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighboring Bangladesh
Three more UK pro-Palestinian activists end hunger strike
- The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws
LONDON: Three detained pro-Palestinian activists awaiting trial in the UK have ended their hunger strike after 73 days, a campaign group said.
The three began “refeeding” on Wednesday, Prisoners for Palestine said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The decision leaves just one person still on hunger strike who started six days ago, it confirmed to AFP. Four others called off their hunger strike earlier.
The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws.
They deny the charges.
The group, aged 20-31, launched their hunger strike in November in protest at their treatment and called for their release from prison on bail as they await trial.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said in parliament that all “rules and procedures” were being followed in their cases.
His government outlawed Palestine Action in July after activists, protesting the war in Gaza, broke into a UK air force base and caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.
Some of those on hunger strike are charged in relation to that incident.
The inmates’ demands included that the government lift its Palestine Action ban and close an Israel-linked defense firm.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori challenged the ban last July, and High Court judges are expected to rule at a later date on whether to uphold the prohibition.
