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No One Told Me I'd Be Interviewed By A Muslim, Says Aung San Suu Kyi

No One Told Me I'd Be Interviewed By A Muslim, Says Aung San Suu Kyi
National League for Democracy party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives in Manama's parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
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National League for Democracy party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives in Manama's parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

LONDON -- Myanmar democracy veteran Aung San Suu Kyi angrily complained about being interviewed by a Muslim BBC presenter who pressed her about violence against Rohingya Muslims, a biographer claimed today.

"No one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim," the Nobel laureate reportedly said off air after a tense exchange with British-Pakistani news presenter Mishal Husain broadcast in October 2013.

The claim was made by Peter Popham, a journalist with The Independent newspaper and author of newly published book "The Lady and The Generals -- Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Freedom".

In the BBC interview, seasoned journalist Husain had pressed Suu Kyi about the plight of the persecuted Rohingya minority, who have been hardest hit by deadly bouts of communal violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Suu Kyi insisted the violence was "not ethnic cleansing" and said: "Muslims have been targeted but also Buddhists have been subject to violence. There's fear on both sides."

Popham wrote about the outburst in an article for The Independent published online today, and said it was relayed to him by a "reliable" source.

A BBC spokeswoman contacted by AFP declined to comment.

Suu Kyi has faced international criticism for not taking a stronger stance on the Rohingya's plight, and for failing to field any Muslim candidates in November's polls, a move observers say was designed to placate Buddhist nationalists.

Suu Kyi will be foreign minister in Myanmar's first civilian government for decades, her party said on Tuesday, giving the democracy champion a formal post despite being blocked from the presidency.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.