There is More Than One Truth in Myanmar?

Cartoonists responds to what they see in the news. When different news sources tell different stories, these stories are reflected in cartoons. In this case, international cartoonists clash with cartoonists from Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis.

Our cartoonists have been drawing many cartoons on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar in the past few weeks. As criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi mounted, cartoons began the mirror this criticism, for instance by making references to the Nobel Peace prize she won in 1991. Other cartoonists contrasted Buddhism, usually perceived as a very peaceful religion, with the violent military campaign against the Rohingya. All these perspectives come from international cartoonists, who base themselves on international news sources:

 

Moroccan cartoonist Naji Benaji criticizes Aung San Suu Kyi's silence.

 

Amorim from Brazil draws Aung San Suu Kyi in a sea of blood, sitting on an island made of her Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Extremist Buddhists, by Omar Abdallat from Jordan.

 

Buddha is blindfolded in this cartoon by Mehedi Haque from Bangladesh.

 

The cartoonists from Myanmar tell an entirely different story with their cartoons, based on local news sources. On Facebook, well-known Myanmar cartoonist Kyaw Thu Yein calls for solidarity, asking cartoonists to stand against terrorism, and stating that international cartoonists focusing on genocide and human rights breaches in Myanmar are basing themselves on fake news. In cartoons from Myanmar, the country is under threat of terrorism and of this fake news:

 

                          

Myanmar under attack by the ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), in this cartoon by Kyaw Thu Yein.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi has been silent becasue she is in a tight spot, says Lai Lone

 

People are held hostage by terrorists misusing social media, according to Lai Lone.

 

The current situation of Rakhine State in Myanmar, according to Aung Thein Htike,  where news on international media is basically a  deceitful act of terrorists.

 

We do not presume to know the truth of the situation, and can only emphasize the need for reliable media in the age of fake news.