Press Association Mediapoint
Sunday 9:51 AM BST
AURORA PRIZE WINNER URGES SUU KYI TO RECOGNISE ROHINGYA COMMUNITY
by Nina Massey, Press Association, in Yerevan, Armenia
A Rohingya lawyer has called on Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to recognise his community as human beings.
Kyaw Hla Aung was talking after being awarded this year's 1.1 million dollar (£820,000) Aurora Prize in Yerevan, Armenia.
The activist was recognised for his lifelong fight for equality, education and human rights for the Rohingya in Burma, in the face of persecution, harassment and oppression.
Speaking after a sunrise ceremony at the foot of Mount Ararat, Mr Aung said: “I have a message that Aung San Suu Kyi should recognise our work and our community as human beings and as an ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma).''
Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who lived under house arrest for years for her pro-democracy activism, faces allegations that she has failed to speak out over violence against the Rohingya.
In May, the Commons International Development Committee said said ministers must recognise that Ms Suu Kyi was becoming part of the problem.
The MPs said the main Department for International Development (DfID) aid programmes were drawn up at a time of “high optimism'' after Ms Suu Kyi became the de facto president in 2016.
“Since then there has been ethnic cleansing, the breaking of ceasefires, a closing of civil society space, including restrictions on media freedoms and the persecution of journalists, and a reduction in religious freedom.
“The situation has now dramatically changed and as a result we need to see dramatic change in our engagement with Burma.''
Mr Aung was presented the the prize, granted by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviours.
Vartan Gregorian, co-founder of the Aurora Prize and a member of the selection committee, said: “As we remember the horrors and violence experienced by Armenians – especially women and children – on the deportation route during the genocide, it is with a great sense of responsibility that we stand ready to support Kyaw Hla Aung's advocacy work that will hopefully lead one day to the enactment of national and international policies to protect and defend the vulnerable.
“Kyaw Hla Aung is doing tremendous work, at great risk to himself, and exemplifies the far-reaching impact one person can have to galvanise a movement, and to help individuals transform their lives.''
Mr Aung said: “I am very happy. It encourages me to work more and more for humanity and to fight against discrimination.
“I am very proud of this prize because it is defending my work and also myself – because we are in a very dangerous country. So it will protect me from this kind of danger.''
Mr Aung said he would put his portion of the prize towards education and healthcare in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state in Burma.
As the 2018 Aurora Prize laureate, he receives a 100,000 dollar (£74,500) grant and the opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by donating the remaining million dollars (£745,000) to organisations of his choice.
He will split the award between three international organisations – Medecins Sans Frontieres, Malaysian Medical Relief – MERCY Malaysia, and the International Catholic Migration Commission.
Mr Aung has worked for decades using his legal expertise to appeal for basic human rights for the stateless Rohingya.
Receiving his award, he said he hoped it would encourage the other two Aurora Prize humanitarians for this year to continue their work.
They are Sunitha Krishnan, women's rights advocate and co-founder of Prajwala, India, and Father Tomas Gonzalez Castillo, founder of La 72, a centre that supports Central American migrants in Mexico.