Nobel laureates urge Aung San Suu Kyi to act
Fellow laureates speak out as violence and ‘ethnic cleansing’ continues against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims

Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu and Professor Muhammed Yunus have called on their fellow laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Burma, to stop a violent crackdown against her country's Rohingya Muslim minority.
Suu Kyi has been widely criticised for failing to address widespread violence committed against the Rohingya people, which has forced more than 120,000 refugees across the border into Bangladesh in recent weeks.
"The United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, said the government clearance operations in Rakhine 'risked' ethnic cleansing," The Guardian reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In an open letter to Suu Kyi, Tutu, the former bishop and anti-aparthied campaigner, called on her to show greater leadership, saying: "If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep".
Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, told The Sydney Morning Herald: "I'm still hoping that she will wake up, be bold and take some leadership, she has not shown that leadership yet."
Suu Kyi, who remains a popular figure in the West, has been facing increasing criticism in recent days.
"Her unwillingness to speak out against the military crackdown, which came in response to insurgent attacks in western Rakhine State, has prompted some former admirers to suggest that Suu Kyi be stripped of the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991," the Washington Post reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why are sinkholes becoming more common?
Podcast Plus, will Saudi investment help create the "Netflix of sport"? And why has New Zealand's new tourism campaign met with a savage reception?
By The Week UK Published
-
How Poland became Europe's military power
The Explainer Warsaw has made its armed forces a priority as it looks to protect its borders and stay close to the US
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 - 21 February
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published