Aung San Suu Kyi’s legacy takes a hit

No one expected governing to be easy for Aung San Suu Kyi, who became Myanmar’s de facto leader a year ago after her party won a landslide election that ended more than a half-century of military rule. Even so, her first year has been a disappointment to many.

She made it a top priority to end the long-running ethnic insurgencies that have torn the country apart, but her anemic peace effort has proved fruitless so far, and fighting between government forces and ethnic groups has increased.

The world has been shocked by reports that the military has carried out atrocities, including rape and murder, against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in western Myanmar, but Suu Kyi has said little on the matter and done even less.

Her government’s growing suppression of speech on the internet seems perverse for a onetime democracy icon who spent 15 years under house arrest. Among the public, patience is wearing thin.

“She doesn’t have support like before,” said Zar Zar Oo, 31, a vendor at the Yangon train station. “We loved her so much before, but it seems like she doesn’t do enough for us. For now, we are in trouble.”

Defensive note

In a televised speech to the nation commemorating her first year in office, Suu Kyi struck a defensive note, saying people could choose another leader if they were unhappy with her. “If you think I am not good enough for our country and our people, if someone or some organization can do better than us, we are ready to step down,” she said.

Nine of 19

Some voters apparently listened. In parliamentary by-elections last weekend, her National League for Democracy won only nine of 19 seats.

Suu Kyi, 71, cites building roads as one of her biggest accomplishments. The party spokesman Win Htein said her government had doubled spending on health care and education, though he provided no details.

But Richard Horsey, a political analyst and former United Nations official, said that the growth had slowed and that foreign investment had dipped significantly.

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration has not offered any compelling economic vision,” he said.

In Yangon, people are waiting for Suu Kyi to deliver results, said Myat Suu Mon, 28, a department store clerk.

“Support is less than before because people’s expectations were too high,” she said. “But in reality we don’t see things changing here.” NYT