London, 30 December, (Asiantribune.com):
Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of the Freedom of
Oxford for “turning a blind eye” to atrocities being committed against Rohingya
Muslims. The decision to revoke the honor was made a few weeks after St Hugh’s
College, Oxford, where she studied, removed her portrait from a display.
The de facto leader of Myanmar was granted the Freedom of
the City in 1997 for her “long struggle for democracy”.
Aung San Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest in
Rangoon as a campaigner for democracy while Myanmar was ruled by a military
dictatorship.
However, on November 27, Oxford City Council removed the
honour from Suu Kyi through a unanimously supported cross-party motion.
More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have fled
Myanmar Burma to Bangladesh following recent violence.But her failure to
denounce the military or address allegations of ethnic cleansing has been
criticised by world leaders and human rights groups such as Amnesty
International.
Suu Kyi, Burma’s civilian leader has faced widespread
criticism and anger over the country’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim
minority, described by the UN as “textbook ethnic cleansing”.
Oxford City Council voted to permanently to remove her
honor at a meeting earlier, after a preliminary vote in October.
Councilor Mary Clarkson, who proposed the motion, said
Suu Kyi was given the Freedom of the City because she reflected Oxford’s values
of tolerance and internationalism, however “the unprecedented step of stripping
her of the city’s highest honour” was made due to “her inaction in the face of
oppression of the minority”.
“The burning of their villages has been independently
confirmed by satellite images, and the UN has called the situation ‘a textbook
example of genocide’ – yet Aung San Suu Kyi has denied any ethnic cleansing and
dismissed numerous claims of sexual violence against Rohingya women as ‘fake
rape’”, said Clarkson.
“Oxford has a long tradition of being a diverse and
humane city, and our reputation is tarnished by honouring those who turn a
blind eye to violence. We hope that today we have added our small voice to
others calling for human rights and justice for the Rohingya people.”
Last month, Bob Geldof returned back his Freedom of the
City of Dublin in protest at Suu Kyi also holding the honor.
The Live Aid organizer and former pop star laid into the
Burmese Nobel peace laureate, saying she was a “handmaiden to genocide” whose
association with the Irish capital “shames us all”. Geldof handed the award
back at City Hall on November 13, insisting while he was a “proud Dubliner” he
did not want the ceremonial title while Suu Kyi also held it.