A growing roll-call of prominent supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi have turned on the Nobel Laureate over the repression of Myanmar’s Rohingya muslims.
William Hague, the foreign British foreign secretary, became the latest friend of Suu Kyi to condemn her leadership of the country amid pogroms that threaten almost one million people. He is among many who worked for her freedom during the decades of imprisonment and house arrest she endured to express his dismay at her role in the current crisis.
Mr Hague was among the first foreign leaders to visit Suu Kyi when she was freed in 2012, arriving on her doorstep before Hillary Clinton, the then US Secretary of State. The wife of a deceased British academic, Suu Kyi is extremely close to the British embassy in Myanmar and is regarded as a personal friend by many ambassadors and politicians in London.
“It is possible to make the argument that we should cut her some slack,” wrote Mr Hague in a weekly newspaper column. “[But] I join all those who have come to the sad conclusion that, no, it isn’t.
“The action against the Rohingya in the past fortnight appears to be one of unlimited violence against the civilian population. The accounts emerging from the area in question, Rakhine State, involve the torching of villages and appalling atrocities of rape and murder.”
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Read more:
Myanmar operation against Rohingyas textbook ethnic cleansing, says UN rights chief
Muhammad Yunus: ‘Aung San Suu Kyi should tell the Rohingya that Myanmar is as much their home as it is hers’
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Campaigners have condemned the British government’s response to the atrocities in Myanmar as pathetic and suggested London is in thrall to Suu Kyi. More than 150 British parliamentarians signed a letter urging Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, to apply greater pressure on both Aung San Sui Kyi and Min Aung Hlaing, commander in chief of the military in Myanmar.
Mark Farmaner, the director of the Burma UK Campaign, which championed Suu Kyi’s freedom, said he had pleaded with her personally but was rebuffed.
“Aung San Suu Kyi's behaviour is inexcusable, I campaigned for more than a decade for her release from house arrest, I pressured the government, I went around the world calling for her release and I am so disappointed with how she has behaved,” he said. “I've spoken to her about this myself; she did not seem sympathetic. I said to her, please go and see for yourself what's going on in northern Rakhine State to the Rohingya, but she refused.”
Mr Hague’s intervention follows that of other prominent Nobel prize winners, who have implored her to stand up to the Myanmar military. Muhammad Yunis, the founder of Grameen Bank, wrote in The National of the suffering taking place just a few miles from his own hometown in Bangladesh. “Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto head of government, should undertake a visit to the refugee camps in Bangladesh to address the terrified people living there,” he wrote. “She should tell them that Myanmar is as much their home as it is hers. This single act of leadership will wash away all the suspicions and begin the process of healing.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has also made a direct plea to his fellow laureate. The Dalai Lama said the suffering of the Rohingya could be seen on their faces after Suu Kyi said the reports from the region were fake news. "May I take the liberty of writing to you once again to tell you how dismayed I am by the distressing circumstances in which the situation seems to have deteriorated further,” the Tibetan leader wrote. "I appeal to you and your fellow leaders to reach out to all sections of society to try to restore friendly relations throughout the population in a spirit of peace and reconciliation,” he said.
Human rights activists are appalled their former hero is now in league with the military responsible for the attacks. “Aung San Suu Kyi hits a new low with this potentially deadly inflammatory propaganda. leadership failure,” Phelim Kine, a deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch
Mr Hague called for Suu Kyi to take four steps. First, to demand the military stop the violence. Second, to commission an investigation of crimes on all sides. Third, to explain to Myanmar’s citizens that the violence won’t resolve grievances. And fourth, to take the risk of taking on the military and exert full control over the Myanmar state.
He ended with an exhortation to his former friend. “Come on, Aung San Suu Kyi. Be the great leader we always knew.”
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20OneOrder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tamer%20Amer%20and%20Karim%20Maurice%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cairo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E82%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Series%20A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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