Members of the Canadian public have called on its government to revoke the honorary citizenship of Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her inaction in the Rohingya crisis.
Canada Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland took part in a protest march in Toronto on Saturday where politicians, rights workers and lawyers called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to strip the Nobel Peace Prize winner of her citizenship.
“Based on the reports, this looks a lot like ethnic cleansing and that is not acceptable,” Freeland said, according to a report by CBC News. “It is not acceptable to Canadians and I am very proud that Canadians are raising their voices here in Canada.”
Both she and Trudeau will ‘focus’ on the issue at the United Nations General Assembly this week, the foreign affairs minister said. Suu Kyi received her honourary Canadian citizenship in 2012. She is one of only six to receive the honour. Four of the recipients, including Suu Kyi, are also recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to Canada’s laws there are no differences between a standard and honourary citizenship.
A Canadian citizen convicted of directly or indirectly supporting war crimes or crimes against humanity will be given a life sentence in prison. Suu Kyi has been harshly criticised by the international media for her inaction on the military crackdown that has forced some 430,000 Rohingyas to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Suu Kyi, for her part, has called many of the reports ‘fake news’.
