Aung San Suu Kyi’s Defensive Denial of the Rohingya Massacre: A Rhetorical Analysis of Denial and Positive-Image Construction

JSPP
Journal of Social and Political Psychology 

 

Idhamsyah Eka Putra*1,2, Hema Preya Selvanathan3, Ali Mashuri4, Cristina J. Montiel5
[1] Faculty of Psychology, Persada Indonesia University, Jakarta, Indonesia. [2] Division for Applied Social Psychology Research (DASPR), Jakarta, Indonesia. [3] School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. [4] Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. [5] Department of Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines.

Abstract

In December 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accused the Myanmar government of genocide against Rohingya Muslims. Represented by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar authorities denied such accusations. To understand how a political leader can deny ingroup wrongdoings, we unpacked Suu Kyi’s ICJ speech and analyzed her defensive rhetorical style through critical narrative analysis. We aimed to identify and describe the denial strategies Suu Kyi used as well as how she maintained a positive ingroup image to support her position. Our findings showed that Suu Kyi engaged in interpretative denial of genocide by arguing that genocide cannot occur when there is armed conflict, that there were victims and perpetrators on both sides, and that misconducts by law enforcement had been addressed. To maintain the ingroup’s positive image, she portrayed Myanmar as moral by emphasizing the government’s knowledge of ethical standards and laws, as well as their support for peace and justice. By examining political discourse used by a national leader internationally renowned for supporting human rights, our findings shed light on the dynamic, constructive nature of denial. Theoretical and applied contributions to understanding denial of ingroup wrongdoing are discussed.

Keywords: denial, ingroup wrongdoing, genocide, mass violence, competitive victimhood, ingroup image, moral disengagement

Myanmar Army Says it Has Convicted 3 Troops For 2017 Massacre of Rohingya

BenarNews
Special to BenarNews
2020-06-30

Rohingya Muslim refugee Mohammad Younus, from the Myanmar village of Gu Dar Pyin in Rakhine state, stands on a hill at the Kutupalong refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh, Jan. 14, 2018.AP

Myanmar’s military said Tuesday that it tried and convicted three soldiers in a secret court-martial for the massacre of hundreds of Rohingya villagers during an army-led crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017, only the second case in which troops have been held accountable for atrocities against the Muslim minority.

Myanmar Army Says it Has Convicted Three Troops For 2017 Massacre of Rohingya

RADIO FREE ASIA
2020-06-30

Rohingya Muslim refugee Mohammad Younus from the Myanmar village of Gu Dar Pyin in Rakhine state, stands on a hill at the Kutupalong refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh, Jan. 14, 2018.
Associated Press

Myanmar’s military said Tuesday that it tried and convicted three soldiers in a secret court-martial for the massacre of hundreds of Rohingya villagers during an army-led crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017, only the second case in which troops have been held accountable for atrocities against the Muslim minority.

The verdict on the massacre near Gu Dar Pyin village came as the Myanmar military faces genocide-related charges at three international courts over its expulsion of more than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh in late 2017, in which thousands died in indiscriminate killings, mass rape, torture, and village burnings.

US Condemns Myanmar Ruling Keeping 2 Journalists Imprisoned.

VOA

April 24, 2019

FILE - Detained Myanmar journalists Wa Lone, (L) and Kyaw Soe Oo (3rd-R) are escorted by police from the courthouse as they are taken to prison after the first day of trial in Yangon, July 16, 2018.

The U.S. on Wednesday condemned the Myanmar Supreme Court decision upholding the convictions of two Reuters journalists for violating the country's Official Secrets Act by uncovering the Myanmar military's massacre of Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar’s top court to hear Reuters reporters’ appeal.

ejinsight

on the pulse

Mar 26, 2019 9:35am

Reuters reporters Wa Lone (shown here talking to media in July last year) and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than 15 months in detention since they were arrested in December 2017. Photo: AFP

Myanmar’s Supreme Court was scheduled on Tuesday to hear the appeal of two Reuters journalists imprisoned for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law, in a case that has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy.

Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than 15 months in detention since they were arrested in December 2017, while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslim civilians involving Myanmar soldiers.