She
is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a beacon of saintly integrity in
the West who remained under house arrest for 15 years in her native
Burma.
However, there is another side to Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi that sits at odds with her iconic image.
After the BBC
Today presenter Mishal Husain gave Suu Kyi a rough ride during a BBC
interview, Suu Kyi lost her composure and was heard to mutter angrily
off-air: ‘No one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim.’
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Heated: Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi and Today presenter Mishal Husain had a heated exchange
Interview: Husain (right) was interviewing Suu Kyi for Radio 4's Today programme in October 2013 (pictured)
The
spat between the two prominent and famously elegant Asian women has only
just emerged, and followed a heated interview with the 70-year-old
president of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy on the Today programme, according to a new book, The Lady And The Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi And Burma’s Struggle For Freedom, by Peter Popham.
Suu Kyi’s equivocal attitude towards the violence suffered by Burma’s Muslim minority has alarmed even her most dedicated fans.
When
she was repeatedly asked by Husain to condemn anti-Islamic sentiment
and the wave of mob-led massacres of Muslims in Myanmar, she declined to
do so. ‘I think there are many, many Buddhists who have also left the
country for various reasons,’ she replied. ‘This is a result of our
sufferings under a dictatorial regime.’
Aung San Suu Kyi is pictured here
today after meeting with the newly appointed minister from National
League of Democracy party at the parliament building in Naypyitaw,
Myanmar
Much
of the country’s huge Buddhist majority dislikes its small Muslim
community with a passion, so it is thought Suu Kyi did not want to
alienate her supporters.
Muslims
are only 4 per cent of Burma’s population. The Rohingya Muslims, who
have borne the brunt of the violence, are a smaller minority still. The
Rohingya are explicitly forbidden from becoming citizens of Burma and
have no political weight whatsoever.
Husain, 43, was the first Muslim presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme.
But while often seen as a symbol of the BBC’s commitment to diversity, she is, herself, thumpingly posh.
The
mother-of-three and Northampton-born daughter of Pakistani parents was
educated at private school and Cambridge University, where she read law.
Suu Kyi’s equivocal attitude towards the violence suffered by Burma’s Muslim minority has alarmed even her most dedicated fans
When Suu Kyi (left) was repeatedly
asked by Husain (right) to condemn anti-Islamic sentiment and the wave
of mob-led massacres of Muslims in Myanmar, she declined to do so
THE LADY OF BURMA: WHO IS AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Aung San Suu Kyi, 70, (pictured) is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and pro-democracy campaigner
Known
as the Lady of Burma, 70-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy
campaigner and the opposition leader in Myanmar, who was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
The
leader of the National League of Democracy, has led an extraordinary
life, despite spending 20 years of it under house arrest.
She was born in Rangoon – now Yangon – but when she was just two years old her father was assassinated.
Her father, Aung San, had founded the modern Myanmar army and negotiated independence from the British Empire in 1947.
But he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year.
When she was 15, in 1960, her mother was appointed Burmese ambassador to India and Nepal and Suu Kyi accompanied her there.
She
completed her education in New Delhi, gaining a degree in politics. She
went on to obtain a Masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from
Oxford.
She returned to Myanmar in 1988, shortly before a military junta took power and launched her career in politics in earnest.
Influenced
by both Mahatma Gandhi's philosophies, and her own principles as a
Theravada Buddhist, she entered politics to work for democratisation.
She helped found founded the National League for Democracy in September 1988.
In 1990, Suu Kyi's NLD party received 59 per cent of the votes in a general election called by the military junta.
But the results were nullified and the military refused to hand over power, causing an international outcry.
She
was placed under house arrest, during which time she was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
She used the $1.3million prize money to establish a health and education trust for the people of Myanmar.
While under house arrest, she spent her time reading about philosophy, politics and biographies that her husband had sent her.
She
was offered the option of freedom, as long as she never returned to her
country. But rather than accept the opportunity to live an un-political
life with her husband and two children, she chose to not abandon her
people.
In November, her opposition party secured a landslide victory in the Burmese elections.
A
legacy of rule of military junta means Suu Kyi cannot become president
herself, however, this week it was announced that she would become a
minister in Myanmar's new cabinet when it takes power next month.
So who's behind Kate's mask?
The
designer behind Kate Middleton’s iconic blue engagement dress knows
only too well imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Brazilian-born
Daniella Helayel, who founded the Issa label in 2006, dressed up as the
Duchess of Cambridge to attend a royal-themed party in London.
Brazilian-born Daniella Helayel, who
founded the Issa label in 2006, dressed up as the Duchess of Cambridge
to attend a royal-themed party in London
As
my picture shows, she wore a Kate face mask, Union Jack hat and red,
white and blue dress. The photo was shared online by costumier Kitty Su,
who sports a grey wig and gold tiara to look like the Queen.
‘HRH and granddaughter-in-law,’ Kitty wrote.
Star Brian's date with Queen
Dashing
physicist Brian Cox has sparked a sudden interest in cosmology in many
female TV viewers. Is the Queen among his fans? Her Majesty invited the
48-year-old Manchester University professor to Buckingham Palace for
lunch on Wednesday.
But
they were not dining a deux. Prince Philip hosted the lunch with the
Queen, and the eclectic guest list included chef Tony Singh and National
Union of Journalists boss Michelle Stanistreet. Cox has been described
as the natural successor as the BBC’s leading science presenter to Sir
David Attenborough, a firm royal favourite.
Before moving into physics, Cox played keyboard for pop band D:Ream, who sang the New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better.
Radio
4 inquisitor John Humphrys recalls the occasion he interrupted former
Chancellor Ken Clarke some 24 times during one interview.
‘The
next time he came to Today to be interviewed, I handed him a
calculator,’ says Humphrys. ‘I told him: “So you can keep count of the
number of times I interrupt and ring a bell or something if I exceed
24.”
‘He
looked down at the calculator and said: “You know something? I never
did figure out how to make one of these things work.” ’ How very
reassuring.
Back to work for brave Michelle
Wearing
a red wig to play a con-artist, Michelle Dockery’s latest role is a
world away from her corseted turn as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey.
Her
part in the TV thriller Good Behavior, which she is filming in North
Carolina, is also the actress’s first job since the death of her fiancé
John Dineen (pictured with Michelle) in December.
Paying
tribute to Dineen, who died of a brain tumour two days before her 34th
birthday, Dockery said the PR professional had an ‘electric’ presence
and a ‘wicked sense of humour’.
Wearing a
red wig to play a con-artist, Michelle Dockery’s latest role is a world
away from her corseted turn as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey, and is ehr
first death since the death of fiance John Dineen in December
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