THE COST OF INACTION

Preeti Jha: You’ve seen Myanmar at its peak of democratic promise with the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). You’ve also documented the gravest human rights violations against minorities, including Rohingya Muslims. What went wrong?

Yanghee Lee: It shouldn’t have gone wrong. There was a lot of hope towards the end of U Thein Sein’s* government. Things were looking up. I really did see some transformation to democracy. But she was never really ready, Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi*, to govern. We all expected that during the 15-plus years of house arrest she would have had a masterplan, a blueprint. When I first met her I emphasized that the first 100 days are very important for any government, where she had to rein in (take charge) as best as she can. And more so in a country like Myanmar, where they were coming out of a five-decades-plus military regime. I gave her (a dossier