Aung San Suu Kyi was
awarded the honorary freedom of the City of London on Monday, as a small group
of demonstrators protested outside about the treatment of minority Rohingya
Muslims.
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Myanmar's Aung San
Suu Kyi received the honorary freedom of the City of London at the Guildhall |
© AFP | CHRIS J RATCLIFFE
|
London (AFP) | 8 May
2017
Myanmar’s de facto
leader received the award at the Guildhall, after meeting with Queen Elizabeth
II and heir to the throne Prince Charles on Friday.
The award was in
recognition of her “non-violent struggle over many years for democracy and her
steadfast dedication to create a society where people can live in peace,
security and freedom”, the City of London said.
Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Suu Kyi is on a tour around Europe that has already taken her to
Belgium, Italy and the Vatican City.
On Monday around 40
demonstrators protested outside the Guildhall, with signs reading “Free All
Political Prisoners in Burma” and “Please Stop Military Burning of Rohingya
Villages”.
 |
Protesters rallied
against Aung San Suu Kyi as she received the honour | © AFP | CHRIS J RATCLIFFE
|
They chanted “Suu
Kyi is lying; Rohingyas are dying” and said that people who had once supported
her now opposed her.
“We believed that
she would be a champion of human rights but she has been complicit with… the
junta murdering innocent Rohingyas,” one speaker said.
Last week Suu Kyi
rejected a decision by the UN’s rights council to investigate allegations of
crimes by Myanmar’s security forces against Rohingyas.
Myanmar is scheduled
hold peace talks this month aimed at ending decades-long ethnic wars that have
intensified since Suu Kyi’s party took power a year ago.
Earlier on her
Europe trip, she met Belgium’s King Philippe and Prime Minister Charles Michel.
She also met
European Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission foreign policy
chief Federica Mogherini while in Brussels.
She then met Pope
Francis and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni while in Rome on Thursday.
BROUK posted the following video clips in FB wall:
In #UK, Protest against Myanmar's #DASSK’s #Govt for
being active in #Genocide & #warcrimes Part1: https://www.facebook.com/BurmeseRohingyaOrganisationUk/videos/699502003563130/
In #UK, Protest against Myanmar's #DASSK’s #Govt for
being active in #Genocide & #warcrimes Part2: https://www.facebook.com/BurmeseRohingyaOrganisationUk/videos/699511806895483/
In #UK, Protest against Myanmar's #DASSK’s #Govt for
being active in #Genocide & #warcrimes Part3: https://www.facebook.com/BurmeseRohingyaOrganisationUk/videos/699525673560763/
In #UK, Protest against Myanmar's #DASSK’s #Govt for
being active in #Genocide & #warcrimes Part4: https://www.facebook.com/BurmeseRohingyaOrganisationUk/videos/699533003560030/