Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said that, with hindsight, her government could have better handled the situation in Rakhine state that led to the forced displacement of more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims, CNN reported.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Vietnam Thursday, Suu Kyi said her government had attempted to ensure “development and rule of law” in the far western state.
“There are of course ways in which we, with hindsight, might think that the situation could have been handled better,” she said to Borge Brende, WEF President.
“But we believe that for the sake of long-term stability and security we have to be fair to all sides. The rule of law must apply to everybody. We cannot choose and pick whom should be protected by rule of law,” she said.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee Rakhine into neighbouring Bangladesh following a violent government crackdown in August last year, precipitating one of Asia's worst refugee crisis. Many of those who crossed the border have recounted horrific stories of being driven from their homes under threat of death.
An independent United Nations investigation into alleged human rights abuses carried out against the Rohingya has called for Myanmar's military leaders to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Myanmar's military has repeatedly denied that it has deliberately attacked unarmed Rohingya.
Suu Kyi was also asked about the two Reuters journalists who were jailed earlier this month for seven years after being found guilty of breaching the country's Official Secrets Act, for their part in uncovering a massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.
She said the two men, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, “were not jailed because they were journalists.”
“I wonder whether very many people have actually read the summary of the judgment which had nothing to do with freedom of expression at all, it had to do with the Official Secrets Act. But I don't think anybody has actually bothered to read it,” she said, adding the two men were free to appeal the judgment.
UN investigators into the Rohingya crisis found that Myanmar's civilian government had “contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes” through their “acts and omissions.”
“The State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has not used her de facto position as Head of Government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine State,” the report states.
Suu Kyi has faced intense criticism for her role in the crisis, with international bodies calling for the Nobel Peace laureate to be stripped of the honour.
