Rohingya crisis: Suu Kyi's portrait removed from display at Oxford College

Myanmar's State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi's portrait has been removed from public display at the Oxford college, where she studied as an undergraduate amid criticism of her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

The governing body of St. Hugh's college decided to remove the painting of the Nobel laureate from its main entrance on Thursday, days before the start of the university term and the arrival of new students, The Guardian reported.

Suu Kyi had held her 67th birthday party at the college where she studied politics, philosophy and economics between 1964 and 1967 and was celebrated with an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in 2012.

The international community has expressed concern over the exodus of Rohingyas Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Delivering State of the Union address in Naypyitaw, Suu Kyi broke her silence on the Rohingya crisis in the country and said that the government does not fear scrutiny by the international community, even as more than 4,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from the northern Rakhine State.

"There have been allegations and counter-allegations that need to be investigated. The government still needs to find out what the real problems are," Suu Kyi said, in a nationally televised address, the first since an army crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority community was branded as "ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations.

Suu Kyi further stressed on the short time her government has been in power for, adding, "I am aware of the fact the world attention is focused on the situation in the Rakhine State as a responsible member of the community of nations. Myanmar does not fear international scrutiny and is committed to bring peace and sustainable solution that will bring peace, stability and development for all communities within that state."

"We don't want Myanmar to be a nation divided by religious beliefs or ethnicities. Hate and fear is the main scourge and a transition for us is a transition to democracy after half a century or more of authoritarian rule. We now are in the process of nurturing our nation and yet imperfect democracy. Peace and stability have to be achieved after nearly 70 years of internal conflict that started on the day of our independence back in 1948," she stated.

Myanmar's de-facto leader added, "I want to share what challenges our country is facing and the steps that we are taking to overcome them. This year, I shall not be travelling to New York to attend the U.N. session. People have voted for democracy. They, in fact, have entrusted to us the task of carrying out three responsibilities: democratic transition, peace and stability and development. None of these challenges are either easy or simple.