Amnesty International strips Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi of top honour

Amnesty International has withdrawn a prestigious human rights award from Myanmar Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

The international human rights group named Suu Kyi as its 2009 Ambassador of Conscience Award recipient when she was still under house arrest for her opposition to Myanmar's oppressive military junta.

Amnesty said it informed the 73-year old of the decision on Sunday. She so far hasn't issued any public response.

Once hailed as a champion in the fight for democracy, Suu Kyi has been stripped of a series of international honours over a Rohingya exodus that began in August 2017.

More than 7,00,000 members of the mostly stateless group fled across Myanmar's western border into Bangladesh after the Myanmar military launched a crackdown in response to Rohingya insurgent attacks on the security forces.

UN-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign of killings, rape and arson with "genocidal intent".

Suu Kyi's administration rejected the findings as one-sided, and said the military action was engaged in a legitimate counterinsurgency operation.

Amnesty International said in a statement on Tuesday she had failed to speak out and had "shielded the security forces from accountability" for the violence against the Rohingya, calling it a "shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for".

Amnesty International also said Suu Kyi had not condemned military abuses in conflicts between the army and ethnic minority guerrillas in northern Myanmar and her government had imposed restrictions on access by humanitarian groups.

Her government had also failed to stop attacks on freedom of speech, it said.

Rohingyas are ethnic Muslims of Myanmar living in the Rakhine province in the Arakan region. Myanmar government does not recognise Rohingyas as their citizens. Only about 40,000 Rohingyas are acknowledged as citizens in their country.

Rohingya Muslims are referred to as Bengalis in Myanmar for their roots in Bangladesh. The 1982-citizenship law of Myanmar does not recognise Rohingyas as ethnic group and these people are practically stateless for 35 years.

In 2014, the Myanmar government presented a plan for accommodating Rohingya Muslims as their citizens. The willing members of Rohingya community were asked to change their ethnicity in the census form from Rohingya to Bengali.

In 2012, the Rohingyas saw themselves being evicted from their homes, their land confiscated and their villages and habitations attacked by Myanmar's military. The United Nations has recognised Rohingya Muslims as one the most persecuted ethnic groups in the world.

It began with a case of gangrape in Myanmar. Some Rohingya Muslims were charged with gangrape and murder of a Buddhist woman in Rakhine. This led to clashes between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists. Bloody fights and riots soon engulfed the entire Arakan region.

The Myanmar government responded by herding thousands of Rohingya Muslims in a concentration camp fenced by barbed wires. The police did not allow Rohingyas to leave the camps. The Myanmar's authorities supplied food in the camps but it was not enough leading to starvation. Medical aid was not proper which caused spread of disease and deaths in the camps. Other Rohingyas started to flee the country. Those in the camps tried everything to escape.

Thousands of Rohingyas were discovered in the sea water on boats with no country to go. International press branded them as boat people.

Rohingyas entered into northeast India through various routes. They avoided staying near the Myanmar's borders. Rohingyas spread over a large area across various states. They have their camps in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed the Parliament in August that there were about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims living illegally in the country. According to Centre's estimates, Rohingya's population has increased four times in India over the past three years.