The release of the Burmese, Pro-Democracy Leader, Aung San Suu Kyi is very welcome. It is a cause for celebration all across the world, and particularly in Dublin as Aung San Suu Kyi was bestowed with the Freedom of Dublin City in 2000 by the then Lord Mayor, Cllr Mary Freehill. Hopebully, she will shortly be in a position to travel to Dublin to sign the Roll of Freemen in person.
One of my first acts as Lord Mayor of Dublin last August was to open a Book of Solidarity to protest against the decision of Military Junta to continue her detention under house arrest for the most spurious of charges.
I said on that occasion that for me "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."
It is clear since her release that the campaign for democracy in Burma must continue. The Burma Action Support Group in Ireland have done great work in Ireland in highlighting the injustices to the people of Burma. I wish them well at this time, and pledge my support for their ongoing campaign for democracy in Burma.
I look forward to the day when Aung San Suu Kyi signs the Roll of Freemen of the City.
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