Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Emer Costello opened a Book of Solidarity at City Hall, Castle Street on Monday 17th August 2009 at 1.00pm, calling on the Military Junta in Burma, to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi, the Leader of Burma’s National League for Democracy, Freeman of the City of Dublin, Nobel Peace Laureate, from house arrest.
According to the Lord Mayor, “Aung San Suu Kyi is a global icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of military repression, and she takes her rightful place in history amongst other great civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi who I know inspired her. As Lord Mayor of Dublin, I am calling on the Military Junta in Burma to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. ”
I, like, many people throughout the world was outraged when I learned of the outcome of the Kafkaesque showtrial in Burma last week, where she was sentenced to three years hard labour which was subsequently commuted to eighteen months house arrest for a non-existent crime.
The Book of Solidarity is Dublin’s response to Aung San Suu Kyi own powerful plea to people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma when she said ‘Please use your freedom to promote ours’.
Aung San Suu Kyi was conferred with the Freedom of Dublin City on March 18th 2000, by former Lord Mayor, Councillor Mary Freehill. She has yet to sign the Roll of Freemen of the City, where a space has been left for her to sign.
“I am appealing to all Dubliners and visitors to the City, to sign the Book of Solidarity this week in support of releasing Aung San Suu Kyi from imprisonment, and to express their abhorrence for the plight of the Burmese people, living beneath the yoke of a military regime characterised by cruelty for the past twenty years ”, says the Lord Mayor.
According to former Lord Mayor, Councillor Mary Freehill, “ It is now critically important with the imminent elections in Burma, to keep the impetus behind the international campaign to release Aung San Suu Kyi from imprisonment and to liberate Burma from military dictatorship, and return it to a democracy”.
Lord Mayor, Councillor Emer Costello, Former Lord Mayor, Councillor Mary Freehill, Gearoid Kilgallen, Chairperson Burma Action Ireland (BAI), and Niamh Rooney, Co-ordinator, will speak at Monday’s event at City Hall.
Ends
Text on Book of Solidarity:
Book of Solidarity
Calling for the Immediate Release from House Arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, Freeman of the City of Dublin, Nobel Peace Laureate, Leader of Burma’s National League for Democracy, Prisoner of Conscience and Champion of the Courageous And Peaceful Struggle to Liberate her Country from Military Dictatorship
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Aung San Suu Kyi Event, City Hall - 17.08.09 023
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment