Opinion | Suu Kyi's reticence on plight of Rohingya diminishes her

Forgive me if I missed something - despite keeping an eye out - but Myanmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi seems to be at a loss for words about wanton acts of cruelty, murder and destruction in her country.

During her inaugural speech to the parliament in Naypyidaw last month she did make a call for laws protecting the country's ethnic minorities, but reports suggest she was referring to Myanmar's minorities in general and not the people trapped between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"The high poverty rates in ethnic states clearly indicate that development in ethnic regions is not satisfactory," she was quoted as saying, in what news agencies reported was only a brief maiden speech.

"Not satisfactory" does not do justice to the images coming out of Rakhine state, where there seems to be a sustained campaign - call it ethnic cleansing - against the Rohingya.

Last month's fighting left scores dead, according to the major wire services, but what was particularly disturbing was the television footage of Myanmese soldiers standing by as homes were burnt down among the rice paddies. Human Rights Watch referred to the attacks as "atrocities", but the silence on the shore of Yangon's Inya Lake, where many distinguished visitors have paid homage to Aung San Suu Kyi over the years, has been disconcerting.