Nobel Prize winners

[carrie]

I was shocked when the newly elected Barak Obama was voted the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2009, The European Union in 2012, but the biggest mistake has been giving the prize to a woman who is overseeing ethnic cleansing in her country with the excuse that it is a complicated issue. No doubt but Aung San Sui Ku should have the prize withdrawn. Very disappointed with a woman I admired, once again it seems power corrupts.

[newcastle]

I'm not sure we should rush to judgement on Ang Sang Suu Kyi's morals...at least, not yet.


"Ms Suu Kyi had already created a commission of experts, chaired by former UN chief Kofi Annan to investigate the Rakhine violence, and her government has promised to implement its findings.

But she has remained silent on the Rakhine atrocities, defended the military, blocked UN investigators going to Rakhine, and accused aid agencies of being linked to terrorism, curbing their ability to safely deliver aid to distressed Rohingya.

The reality in Myanmar is that Ms Suu Kyi, whose official title is State Counsellor, also has no control and little influence over the military, analysts say.

The Constitution allocates 25 per cent of seats in parliament to soldiers and the military retains control of its own budget and all ministries relating to security issues."

In April and November last year, as violence escalated in Rakhine, General Min Aung Hlaing embarked on goodwill visits to Europe, despite sanctions still imposed on Myanmar by the European Union.He was given guards of honour, made speeches and toured factories making the armaments his military buys.

Ms Suu Kyi is scheduled to deliver a television speech on the crisis on Tuesday that will be closely watched for signs as to whether she is prepared to break ranks with General Min Aung Hlaing, or continue to publicly support him."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/myanmars-mi ... yjit5.html

Her speech tomorrow may be a watershed in the public perception of Ms Suu Kyi but, sadly, anything she says will come a little late for the Rohingya. So far, the international community has responded with empty rhetoric and relatively modest aid for the displaced Rohingya population

The United Nations has, once again, demonstrated its inability to prevent the atrocious behaviour of a member nation even if carried out in the full glare of the world. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Rohingya situation in Myanmar, there can be no justification for the scenes we have witnessed on TV in recent days.

It appears the majority of the Myanmar public supports the military's stance and it's a moot point whether even international sanctions would lead to any change of attitude.

Even if Ms Suu Kyi were to reverse her stance, and call for the military to desist, it would come a bit late, and would , in all likelihood be ignored.

She might also lose what influence she has in the country, leading to a possible reversal of the democratic advances made since her days under house arrest.

[newcastle]

I was shocked when the newly elected Barak Obama was voted the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2009, The European Union in 2012, but the biggest mistake has been giving the prize to a woman who is overseeing ethnic cleansing in her country with the excuse that it is a complicated issue. No doubt but Aung San Sui Ku should have the prize withdrawn. Very disappointed with a woman I admired, once again it seems power corrupts.

I share your dismay, and surprise, at Ang San Suu Kyi's public response to the Rohingya debacle but it's not quite right to suggest she's been "corrupted by power".

In reality, she has little, if any, power or influence over the military who instigated and are conducting the assault on the Rohingya population.

There is no mechanism for the withdrawal of a Nobel Prize.

The mention of Barack Obama reminds me of other "controversial" winners of the Peace Prize, Kissinger and Yasser Arafat for example.

Strangely, Gandhi never received it.

Few, if any, of the people associated with great deeds of humanitarian benefit are entirely without blemish. Mother Teresa may have done good work amongst the 'untouchables' of India, but her complete opposition to birth control arguably caused as much misery as her work with the poor relieved.

[John Landon]

And what was Mr Nobel famous for ?

AHH, the irony of life......

It's like fcuking for virginity or waging war for peace.
Yeah, that'll work out just fine !

[newcastle]

I lost what little respect I had for the Nobel Prize committee when they awarded the Literature Prize to Bob Dylan.

[John Landon]

Dylan was my favourite character on the magic roundabout.

Zebedee disturbed me somewhat, but then I always knew there would be another episode the next day.



Life is a carousel, and you gotta learn to ride it well.....

Heaven and hell, ah well......

[newcastle]

Ang San Suu Kyi has spoken...and, to no great surprise, failed to address, let alone condemn, the action of the Myanmar military in Rakhine state.

Apparently, she claims she doesn't know why 400,000 Rohingya have fled.....and will 'investigate'.

It's beyond disingenuous. She'd have done better to maintain a discreet silence.

Even if one accepts that militant Rohingya were attacking the military, the military's response is, by any standards, disproportionate. Despite the efforts of Myanmar to restrict access to Rakhine state, the evidence of what amounts to ethnic cleansing seems undeniable.

The world has rarely witnessed such a mealy-mouthed response by a leading figure to a human tragedy on the scale we are witnessing and those that voiced their support for Ms Suu Kyi during her years of house arrest must feel bitterly betrayed.

[John Landon]

Jesus don't save the guys in the tower of Babel.....