UK union suspends Suu Kyi award
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
One of the largest trade unions of the United Kingdom has suspended an award given to Aung San Suu Kyi during her time as a political prisoner, as international criticism mounts over her tepid response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Rakhine, renowned British daily The Guardian reports.
The move comes as a number of British institutions say they are reviewing or removing honours bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi during her campaign for democracy under Myanmars oppressive military junta, it says in a report carried on Tuesday.
Unison, the countrys second largest trade union, announced that it is to suspend Suu Kyis honorary membership, and urged Myanmars de facto leader to do more to denounce the plight of the countrys Rohingya people.
The situation facing the Rohingya of Myanmar is appalling, Margaret McKee, Unisons president, told the Guardian. Aung San Suu Kyis honorary membership of Unison has been suspended, and we hope that she responds to international pressure.
Bristol University, one of a string of universities that awarded honorary degrees to the Burmese leader during her time in opposition, also said it was reviewing its award in light of accusations of brutal mistreatment of the Rohingya, described by the UN as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
The university shares the growing concern with the ongoing situation in Myanmar, a spokesperson for Bristol University said.
In 1998 we awarded an honorary degree of doctor of laws to Dr Aung San Suu Kyi, who at the time was leading the struggle for human rights and democracy in the then Burma.
In terms of this award it would be wrong to make any decision at this time to consider revoking such an honour but we will continue to monitor and review the situation as necessary.
The London School of Economics student union said it would be stripping the former political prisoner of her honorary presidency.
We will be actively removing Aung San Suu Kyis honorary presidency as a symbol of our opposition to her current position and inaction in the face of genocide, said Mahatir Pasha, the unions general secretary.
Over the last 30 years Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded with honorary degrees from several UK universities including Glasgow, Bath and Cambridge, as well as the freedom of several cities, and other honours.
Oxford councillors have announced that they may reconsider the freedom of the city of Oxford awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1997 at next months council meeting.
If nothing changes, I think it is very likely that the city council will be stripping her of the freedom of the city, John Tanner, an Oxford council board member, told the Oxford Mail. Its something that we very much regret but clearly the reasons for giving her support have now changed.
Aung San Suu Kyi has close links to the city of Oxford, having studied at St Hughs College there as an undergraduate in the 1960s. Her late husband, Michael Aris, was an academic at the university. Oxford awarded an honorary doctorate to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1993 but she was unable to collect it until 2012.
As a leader of Myanmars opposition Aung San Suu Kyi won international praise and a Nobel peace prize in 1991. Despite being barred from running for president, she won a decisive victory in the countrys 2015 election, and was eventually given a title of state counsellor.
But in recent months, she has been the object of criticism for her failure to stem the attacks against the Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority living along the border with Bangladesh.
