Brussels, September 10: Lawmakers of the European Union have decided that Myanmar's state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will no longer be invited to events of the European Parliament’s human rights prize, which she won in 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi has been snubbed over what EU lawmakers described as "her failure to act and her acceptance of the ongoing crimes against the Rohingya community in Myanmar".

Suu Kyi is a recipient of Sakharov Prize which was awarded to her by the European Parliament in 1990. As part of that honour, she would get invites for gatherings of prize laureates, EU lawmakers and rights organisations. However, she has now been suspended from Sakharov Prize events, EU lawmakers said in a statement on Thursday. Myanmar Leader Suu Kyi to Run Again in November Election.

Suu Kyi, who is also Myanmar's foreign minister, is internationally accused of failing to condemn genocide and suspected ethnic cleansing operations carried out by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2016 and 2017. She denies genocide and has defended her country against the charges in the UN court in The Hague. Myanmar's Suu Kyi Rejects Genocide Claims at Top UN Court.

Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar:

Over 730,000 Rohingya people have fled Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2016. The mass exodus began after a rebel group carried out a series of attacks against security posts in the western Rakhine province, which led to a disproportionate crackdown from the Myanmar military against the ethnic group.

The military campaign, which has faced allegations of mass killings and rapes, has been described by United Nations observers as ethnic cleansing and possible genocide. Myanmar does not recognize Rohingyas as citizens and the community has faced decades of discrimination, including restrictions on their freedom of movement. (With agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2020 07:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).