Violence has not returned to the district known as the country's sugarcane-belt, but political divisions remain as Hindus typically vote for BJP and Muslims for the opposition
Suu Kyi stripped of ‘Freedom of Oxford’ over Rohingya crisis
The city council has withdrawn Myanmar de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s Freedom of Oxford honour over the Rohingya crisis, the BBC reports.
Published : 4 Oct 2017, 04:15 AM
Updated : 4 Oct 2017, 04:15 AM
The Myanmar state chancellor was given the honour in 1997 for her ‘long struggle for democracy’.
However, in light of recent events, the Oxford City Council said it was ‘no longer appropriate’ for Suu Kyi to hold the honour.
Suu Kyi has faced international criticism for her handling of the Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine state, which has forced nearly half a million Rohingyas to flee across the border to Bangladesh.
It was an ‘unprecedented step’ for the Oxford City Council, said council leader Bob Price, who supported the motion.
The council was ‘absolutely appalled’ by the crisis in Myanmar and called Suu Kyi’s response to it ‘extraordinary’.
Several other organisations are considering withdrawing the honours they awarded to Suu Kyi, said BBC world affairs editor John Simpson.
"I think it is perfectly natural to look around for ways of saying we disapprove utterly of what you are doing," he told BBC Radio Oxford.
St Hugh’s College, Oxford has already removed a portrait of the Myanmar leader it had displayed on the campus.
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