Rohingyas in Bangladesh rejoice Suu kiys arrest

Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh after a military crackdown three years ago celebrated Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention by the army on Monday, reports AFP.

Around 740,000 Rohingya made the journey from Myanmar’s Rakhine state into the neighbouring country after operations in August 2017 that the United Nations had said could be genocide.

Suu Kyi was the country’s de facto leader at the time and defended the Myanmar military at an International Criminal Court hearing in 2019 into atrocities against the Rohingya, including rape and murder.

The news of Suu Kyi’s arrest spread quickly in the crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh where about one million Rohingya refugees now live.

“She is the reason behind all of our suffering. Why shouldn’t we celebrate?”, community leader Farid Ullah told AFP from Kutupalong – the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Mohammad Yusuf, a leader at the neighbouring Balukhali camp, said: “She was our last hope, but she ignored our plight and supported the genocide against the Rohingya.”