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Friday, March 25, 2016

'No-one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim': Moment Burma democracy heroine Suu Kyi lost her cool with BBC's Mishal Husain after being quizzed over violence towards Muslim minority

By Sebastian Shakespeare for the Daily Mail
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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Today presenter Mishal HusainBurmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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 fiancĂ© 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’.
Actress Michelle Dockery and her boyfriend John DineenMichelle Dockery dons a red wig for her new role on TV thriller Good Behaviour filming in North Carolina
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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