WASHINGTON – Amnesty International revoked its top human-rights award from Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday, saying the Myanmar leader has lost her credibility as a pro-democracy icon for her refusal to stop the brutal, systemic persecution of the Rohingya people inside her country’s borders.

“You no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defense of human rights,” Amnesty International’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said in explaining the human-rights group’s decision.

A former Nobel Peace Prize winner, Suu Kyi's standing has diminished across the globe in recent months for her alleged complicity in Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing campaign against its Muslim-minority Rohingya population – including the murder, rape and torture of thousands of civilians.

More than 700,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar, and the United Nations has said those responsible should face charges of genocide. Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s civilian leader. International human-rights groups say the country’s military is responsible for the persecution, but note that Suu Kyi has downplayed or even exacerbated the extent of the atrocities.

In September, Suu Kyi seemed to defend her government's campaign against the Rohingya.

“There are of course ways in which we, with hindsight, might think that the situation could have been handled better,” she said, according to Reuters. “But we believe that for the sake of long-term stability and security we have to be fair to all sides. ... We cannot choose and pick who should be protected by the rule of law.”

“Aung San Suu Kyi and her office have shielded the security forces from accountability by dismissing, downplaying or denying allegations of human rights violations and by obstructing international investigations into abuses,” Amnesty said in its statement on Monday. “Her administration has actively stirred up hostility against the Rohingya, labeling them as ‘terrorists’, accusing them of burning their own homes and decrying ‘faking rape’.”

The Rohingya are stateless Muslims in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country that has long been hostile to their presence. The Myanmar government does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens.

Suu Kyi earned international accolades in the late 1980s when she became Myanmar's leading democracy advocate. She was held under house arrest for years as she waged a peaceful protest against Myanmar's repressive military junta that had ruled Burma, as the country was known then, since 1962.

She won the Nobel Peace prize in 1991 for her nonviolent crusade, which she said was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Her goal "was to establish a democratic society in which the country's ethnic groups could cooperate in harmony," the Nobel committee says on its website. Amnesty International named Suu Kyi as its "Ambassador of Conscience in 2009," when she was still under house arrest.

Suu Kyi was released from captivity eight years ago today. Three years ago, her pro-democracy party won national elections in 2015, ending decades of dictatorship under Myanamar's military.

But Suu Kyi's powers are limited under the constitution, and the military is still a powerful force in the country. Some of her supporters have suggested that Suu Kyi's support for the attacks on the Rohingya may stem from a desire to maintain a cooperative relationship with Myanmar's generals.

Contributing: Thomas Maresca in South Korea

More:Aung San Suu Kyi won a Nobel for fighting repression. Now she's accused of genocide