Miss Myanmar has been stripped of her pageant title over a video she made about the ongoing violence in Rakhine state where the military is accused of conducting ethnic cleansing triggering a miss exodus of Muslims into other Asian countries, according to media reports.
Nineteen-year-old Shwe Eain Si posted the clip online last week, accusing Rohingya militants of perpetuating the unrest. She included a clip by Priscilla Clapp, Senior Adviser of US Institute of Peace, who is said to have mentioned that the militants of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army have come from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the beauty queen ‘humbly requests’ the governments of these countries to stop the perpetrators.
She says Clapp knows the situation better as she was working in the US mission in Myanmar for many years. Shwe Eain Si makes no mention of military’s violent response against the Muslim Rohingyas.
She posted a message on Twitter last week pleading ‘Sri Lankan brothers and sisters to stand with Myanmar against extremist terror in Rakhine State!’
Sri Lanka’s majority believes in Theravada Buddhism like the Myanmaris and the Indian Ocean island is bitterly divided on the question of accepting Rohingyas after several boatloads of displaced Muslims landed on the coast.
Last week a mob led by Buddhist monks raided a house in Mount Lavinia in Colombo and attacked the Muslim refugees who were sheltering there, also injuring several policemen. The monk who led the gang has been arrested. Sri Lanka and Myanmar have always maintained closer ties. When former president Mahinda Rajapakse came into power he made his first official visit to Myanmar.
Shwe Eain Si lost her Miss Myanmar title after the company which crowned her revoked it. The firm denied the video was the reason, saying it was because she breached contract rules. The company, Hello Madam Media Group, said that the beauty queen was stripped of her title because she did not behave like a role model.
Shwe Eain Si is said to be dating the grand son Ne Win, the dictator who ruled Burma, as Myanmar was known then, and was head of state from 1962 to 1981.
Myanmar Times has a different version relating to dethroning of the beauty queen. The paper says she lost the crown due to personal conflicts with Daw Soe Yu Wai, the Director of Miss Universe Myanmar, who has said Shwe Eain Si’s attitude is unworthy of her title and made several accusations.
On October 1, Miss Universe Myanmar issued a statement why Shwe Eain Si lost her title. She accused of her not being able to provide the necessary documentation and certificates. Daw Soe Yu Wai also accused her of not acting professionally in the run-up to her trip to Vietnam where the final contest will be held.
Most importantly, she accused Shwe Eain Si of using language deemed inappropriate for someone who is representing the country in an international pageant. Talking to The Myanmar Times, the organisers said she used the Burmese F-word but Shwe Eain denies uttering it.
The organisers claim that Shwe Eain Si’s political views had nothing to do with her being dethroned. “The decision was taken before her video was uploaded,” said Daw Soe Yu Wai.
In fact, the story has a much more personal twist. Organisers are angry over Shwe Eain because of her arrogant attitude, according to the paper.
In an event in the Phillipines, she had embarrassed Daw Soe Yu Wai and her husband in front of a driver, it added. Several times, the UK-educated Daw Soe Yu Wai pointed out mistakes Miss Myanmar had made in their promotional material. Pressed to make these accusations more clear, Daw Soe Yu Wai has replied: “As national director [of Miss Universe Myanmar], I have the authority to choose who represents Myanmar and who doesn’t.”
Since she was dethroned, the beauty queen has received a flurry of messages from her fans supporting her. A video also shows her close friend, the grandson of late dictator Ne Win, defending her at a party.
Seventeen-year-old Ja Dim Kai will replace Shwe Eain at Miss World Beauty Queen 2017 to be held in Seoul, capital of South Korea, according to Twitter. Myanmar media reports hinted that the dethroned beauty queen is planning to sue Daw Soe Yu Wai.
