A politician, not an icon: Aung San Suu Kyi\u27s silence on Myanmar\u27s Muslim Rohingya

In Myanmar (also known as Burma), the Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority living mainly in northern Rakhine State. Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic leader of Myanmar\u27s opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD), is championed as the voice of the people. However, on the matter of the Rohingya\u27s persecution she has been notably silent. This article examines the possible reasons for Suu Kyi\u27s silence and argues that Buddhist-Muslim political relations in Myanmar are central to understanding the reasons behind Suu Kyi\u27s position on the Rohingya. It is suggested that various factors, including the history of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the NLD\u27s attitude towards the Rohingya, Suu Kyi\u27s sense of obligation to her father\u27s political legacy, and Suu Kyi\u27s views on ethnicity, are creating a political environment in which Suu Kyi is presented with pragmatic political reasons for staying silent. Given Suu Kyi has the potential to become a future national leader, an understanding of her behaviours towards a sizeable persecuted Muslim minority is important. This is particularly the case when consideration is given to the contemporary pressures on Muslims to embrace radical politics and the implications this could have for Myanmar and the region