“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”
— – Aung San Suu Kyi
On June 19, the erstwhile leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will celebrate her 76th birthday in her home where she has been put under house arrest since the February 1 military coup.
Her birthday is an occasion for us to reflect how a genocide was committed in a country ruled by a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Why did Aung San Suu Kyi, once a celebrated as an icon of democracy, not only remain silent when the Roginyas in Rakhine state were being massacred but even defend the Tatamadaw (the official name of the Burmese Army) at the International Court of Justice in November 2019?
In Myanmar, however, her defence of the Tatmadaw at the International Court of Justice was viewed by the people as a patriotic act comparable to an act of self sacrifice of a mother defending her children. Her popularity soared and she won the 2020 elections. The people of Myanmar looked…