
Former Columnist Jailed for Facebook Criticism of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi - sgt
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/ngar-min-swe-given-7-years-facebook-post.html
======
majos
Here's a Reuters article from back when he was detained in July [1]. It
includes this unflattering paragraph:

"Myanmar has detained at least 38 journalists since Suu Kyi came to power in
2016, according to Athan, a freedom of expression activist organization. These
include two Reuters reporters who are on trial accused of breaching the
Official Secrets Act."

I'm starting to think that the Nobel Peace Prize should only be awarded
posthumously, or perhaps once a person steps down from power (though this
would be hard to quantify). Scientific contributions are rarely undone, but a
person's overall contribution to world peace can vary quite a bit over the
course of their life.

[1] [https://reut.rs/2KVsJq7](https://reut.rs/2KVsJq7)

~~~
mikeash
Maybe they should just be a little more careful about who they give it to.
Even back when she seemed like a saint, did she really advance the cause of
world peace that much? I don’t see how.

The classic crazy example would be Obama’s prize. It was obviously just a
“you're not George W. Bush” prize. Hard to take such a thing seriously. They
should stop treating it as “we like your political activism” and start
treating it as “you have significantly contributed to world peace.”

~~~
chimeracoder
> The classic crazy example would be Obama’s prize. It was obviously just a
> “you're not George W. Bush” prize. Hard to take such a thing seriously

Tom Lehrer, a satirical musician, once said that political satire became
obsolete when Henry Kissinger was given the Nobel Peace Prize.

~~~
mikeash
That is a good example, but at least Kissinger did actually contribute to
peace, even though overshadowed by his other activities.

------
JorgeGT
_" It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts
those who wield it"_

~ Aung San Suu Kyi, _Freedom from fear_ , 1991.

~~~
stephengillie
_All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological
personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the
corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a
condition to which they are quickly addicted._ \- Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse
Dune, Missionaria Protectiva

~~~
mtgx
I feel like this comment thread needs a link to CGP Grey's excellent Rules for
Rulers video, too:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs)

~~~
afarrell
I’ve read thd book this is based on—its a good book and pessimistically
presents what is actually a quite optimistic model of power.

------
pjc50
Myanmar seem to have managed the elected transition of power from a military
dictatorship to a civilian dictatorship, but not any steps beyond that.

~~~
coldtea
Those things take time.

If you don't execute everyone from the old regime, there are tons of rich
people, executives, special interests, influential families, etc, that remain
in place and are still important after the transition.

(The post-WWII Germany was full of ex-nazi hardcore sympathizers, and nazi
executives and officials in all kinds of positions of power until the 80s or
so). De-nazification (not the half-arsed, soon abandoned program of the same
name [1]) was a big demand of younger germans in the 60s and 70s.

Now, if you do execute all important people from the old regime, on the other
hand, you have now had yourself a taste of big corrupting power over others.
And unless you kill every relative, friend, etc as well, you have a recipe for
civil war and further bad blood between you and those that remained.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification)

~~~
lr4444lr
No one expected a miracle, but she was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient! She
could have done much more to prevent the atrocities happening to the Rohingya.

~~~
DoreenMichele
_She could have done much more to prevent the atrocities happening to the
Rohingya._

Such as?

~~~
Freak_NL
Actually using the name Rohingya, for a start¹.

1:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people#Denial_of_the_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people#Denial_of_the_%22Rohingya%22_term)

------
idoubtit
Aung San Suu Kyii's contempt for human rights is nothing new. I referenced
this behavior in 2013 in fr.wikipedia :

« How can Aung San Suu Kyi – a Nobel Peace Prize winner – fail to condemn
anti-Muslim violence? », The Daily Telegraph,‎ 2013-10-24,
[http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.tel...](http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fdavidblair%2F100242929%2Fhow-
can-aung-san-suu-kyi-a-nobel-peace-prize-winner-fail-to-condemn-anti-muslim-
violence%2F)

« Aung San Suu Kyi is turning a blind eye to human rights in the name of
politics », The Guardian,‎ 2013-11-26
[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/27/aung-s...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/27/aung-
san-suu-kyi-is-turning-a-blind-eye-to-human-rights-in-the-name-of-politics)

I had to "fight" to add these to wikipedia. My first edits were revoked. When
the first accusation of genocide appeared in 2016,there was a editing conflict
because I added a paragraph about the Rohingya in the top summary. I finally
was allowed to put a single sentence about it, which was preceded by another
sentenced explaining that Suu Kyi was powerless against the army. I certainly
wasn't very tactful, and I lack experience on such conflicts, but that made me
extremely distrustful of _every_ Wikipedia article.

