EU parliament cuts Suu Kyi from rights prize honourees

By AFP
11 September 2020
EU parliament cuts Suu Kyi from rights prize honourees
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo: Myanmar State Counsellor Office

The European Parliament on Thursday removed Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the "Sakharov Prize community."

The EU assembly awarded the former democracy campaigner its top human rights prize in 1990, a year before she received the Nobel Peace Prize, but she will no longer take part in events for laureates.

A source close to the parliament said the prize had been awarded for Suu Kyi's work before 1990 so could not be withdrawn, but that this exclusion was the strongest sanction available to MEPs.

"The Sakharov Prize Community connects MEPs, laureates, and civil society to increase cooperation on human rights action in Brussels and internationally," the parliament said, confirming the 75-year-old had been "formally suspended" all laureate activities.

"It serves as a channel of communication that enables the laureates and Parliament to address jointly human rights violations and issues."

© AFP