Aung San Suu Kyi’s Honorary Presidency
Should LSESU remove Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary presidency from the LSESU?
Proposer: Mahatir Pasha (201403203)
Seconder: Quratulain Ahsan (201501319)
Hear the arguments for and against at www.facebook.com/lsesu
This Union Notes:
- Aung San Suu Kyi is currently the state councillor to Myanmar and the country’s de facto leader
- Atrocities are currently taking place in Myanmar which has led to the Rohingya people in Rakhine state being described as the “world’s most persecuted people”[1]
- Some estimates show that of the roughly 1.1 million Rohingya people living in Rakhine state, around 500,000 have fled to seek refuge in Bangladesh in an attempt to save themselves from the persecution[2]
- Journalists continue to be denied access to the Rakhine state as the persecution continues[3]
- The UN has described the situation in Rakhine state as a “text book example of ethnic cleansing”[4]
- Suu Kyi was once seen as a symbol of resistance, non-violence and freedom
- Her reputation resulted in her receiving honorary awards from around the world, including one from the LSE Students’ Union, where she was made honorary President.[5]
This Union Believes:
- Aung San Suu Kyi has hitherto been silent as the brutal ethnic cleansing of Muslims takes place under her watch
- When Aung San Suu Kyi did finally break her silence[6], her response to the atrocities were weak and riddled with denial in an attempt to underplay the brutal ethnic cleansing of Muslims
- LSESU believes that universities and students are agents for political change and that silence in the face of genocide is unacceptable.
This Union Resolves:
- LSESU should immediately strip Aung San Suu Kyi’s Honorary Presidency as a symbol of the Union’s opposition to her current position and inaction in the face of genocide
- LSESU should urge all other institutions who have bestowed honours on Aung San Suu Kyi, to do the same, especially the Nobel Committee.