Aung San Suu Kyi under scrutiny for silence over Rohingya Muslims crisis

In April 2016, the newly-elected government of Myanmar passed a bill in the country's Assembly of the Union to create a special post for the leader of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The world cheered as Suu Kyi, hailed as a symbol of power against an oppressive military junta regime, became a part of the Myanmar government. Expectations from her were sky-high as the world believed that Suu Kyi, who has faced the brunt of the military junta and was under house arrest for 15 years, would deal with the Rohingya issue sensitively.

The expectations, many say, have been betrayed as the United Nations estimated that 1.23 lakh Rohingyas fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 25 following a military crackdown in Rakhine state.

After maintaining a long silence on the alleged persecution of Rohingya Muslims by the military, Aung San Suu Kyi finally spoke on the issue, blaming "terrorists" for a "huge iceberg of misinformation" on the violence in Rakhine. In a statement on Facebook, Suu Kyi said the Myanmar government has "already started defending all the people in Rakhine in the best way possible" and warned against misinformation.

There was no mention of Rohingyas fleeing the country in the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner's statement. Suu Kyi's silence on violence against Rohingya Muslims has prompted many to say that her Nobel Peace Prize be revoked.