Sakharov Prize: Aung San Suu Kyi excluded from the "community" of laureates

The European Parliament on Thursday expelled Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the "community" of winners of the Sakharov Prize for human rights, which had been awarded to her in 1990, because of the abuses committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma .

A decision taken by the President of the European Parliament and the heads of the political groups that form the Conference of Presidents.

"She showed herself unworthy of the values ​​of the Sakharov Prize"

"The decision of the Conference of Presidents to formally exclude Aung San Suu Kyi from all activities of the community of Sakharov Prize laureates punishes his inaction and his acceptance of the ongoing crimes against the Rohingya community," Parliament said in a statement on this unprecedented measure.

The European Parliament's decision comes as two ex-Burmese soldiers have admitted to having committed, on the orders of their superiors, abuses against Rohingyas and may have to testify before international justice.

"While Aung San Suu Kyi was a symbol of freedom and democracy for many years, our institution noted with concern that as State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burma, she did not makes no use of her functions to defend the rights of the Rohingyas ", underlined Heidi Hautala, vice-president of the European Parliament." On the contrary, she was explicit in her support for the army which committed these abuses (...) she ignored the calls of the European Parliament and showed herself unworthy of the values ​​of the Sakharov Prize ", continued Ms. Hautala, in a separate statement, pointing to" the denial of responsibility of her government for crimes against humanity ".

"Ethnic cleansing"

Around 750,000 Rohingyas have fled the abuses of the Burmese army and Buddhist militias since August 2017 and have since crowded into huge makeshift camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

Aung San Suu Kyi - de facto head of the Burmese government - has been strongly criticized for her silence on this repression described by the UN as "ethnic cleansing".

The UN also deplored that the leader did not use her "moral authority" in the crisis.

The Sakharov Prize “community” from which it was excluded connects MEPs, laureates and civil society to discuss human rights violations and mobilize international opinion on human rights. 

The price itself, on the other hand, cannot be formally withdrawn from Aung San Suu Kyi, a source familiar with the matter said.

"The prize is awarded for specific actions (...) We cannot take away from her what she has done in the past," said this source.

In 1990, the European Parliament awarded her the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, while she was the leader of the Burmese opposition, for having embodied her country's fight for democracy.

Created in 1988, this prize rewards "an exceptional contribution to the struggle for human rights in the world" and has served on several occasions as the antechamber of the Nobel Peace Prize, which it obtained in 1991. The The Norwegian Nobel Committee had ruled out last year withdrawing the Nobel Peace Prize from Aung San Suu Kyi, its statutes not providing for such a possibility.

The Elie Wiesel Prize was withdrawn from him in 2018.