Activist Celebrated

Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Freedom of the City honor Saturday night in recognition of her activism in her Southeast Asian country. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her peaceful struggle for democracy against the military regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The military regime overturned her party’s resounding victory in general elections the previous year, and refused to recognize the vote as legitimate. Hundreds of members of her National League for Democracy have since been jailed. Suu Kyi herself was under house arrest for six years before being released in 1995. Her movements and political activities remain heavily restricted. She did not attend the Dublin ceremony, but her son Kim Aris flew to Ireland to collect the award in her place. “Aung San Suu Kyi was chosen for this award because of her long courageous stand in support of democracy in Burma,” said Dublin’s Lord Mayor Mary Freehill. “We will leave the roll of honor unsigned like we did for (South African President) Nelson Mandela, until she is free to travel to Dublin herself to sign it.”