Aung Kyaw Moe, the former Deputy Minister for Human Rights in Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), gave his first major interview to DVB English since resigning from the government. And it is baffling. In a 28-minute interview, he did not name the Arakan Army or point to a single NUG failure. Instead, he told Rohingya to “package” themselves as an asset to Myanmar.
In case you missed it, I wrote about it in DVB English.
I am wondering what his reasons are for such restraint. I suspect these will become clearer over time. But the political effect is clear. The NUG escapes serious scrutiny. At the same time, responsibility for the continuing weakness of Rohingya representation is pushed back onto the Rohingya. His politeness towards power is something to behold.
What is happening at the UN this week? How about this meeting on Friday?
Take a look at the flyer above. It looks like Aung Kyaw Moe’s Rohingya Consultative Council has sewn up the institutional circuit. They are holding a UNGA sidelines event complete with diplomatic guests. More than that, they have assigned themselves titles grand enough for a small foreign ministry. Lucky Karim is now “Director of Diplomatic and Multilateral Affairs.”
Most revealingly, this supposedly “Rohingya-led dialogue” will be opened by Kyaw Moe Tun, a diplomat whose conspicuous lack of public intervention on the Rohingya I recently documented. In case you missed it, check it out here:
Myanmar’s UN Ambassador Has a Rohingya Problem
In just over a month, the Myanmar diaspora will be out with their banners outside the U.N. General Assembly in New York. September 19 has been designated a “Day of Action.” There are simultaneous rallies planned across European, Australian and Asian capitals. They will all be pushing the same message - let Kyaw Moe Tun keep his seat as Myanmar’s Perman…
Instead of challenging that silence, the RCC rewards him with a platform and, I suppose, implied endorsement. This is access politics in its purest form. Those who have done little for the Rohingya are rehabilitated on stage.
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