Suu Kyi gets hero’s welcome amid protests
Burmese civilian leader visits Toronto on mission seeking to rebuild democracy
Burma’s world-famous civilian leader got a hero’s welcome at Toronto city hall while protesters outside accused Aung San Suu Kyi of ignoring human rights atrocities in their homeland.
Suu Kyi met privately with Mayor John Tory on Friday before greeting a city council chamber packed with several hundred Burmese-Canadians who sang “Happy Birthday,” 10 days before she turns 72.
A Nobel Peace Prize winner and only one of six people given honorary Canadian citizenship, she spent 15 years detained by a military dictatorship before her National League for Democracy was voted into power in 2015.
Her Canadian visit, which saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledge an extra $8.8 million for Burma’s “peace and stability” programs, has triggered calls for officials to confront Suu Kyi about allegations of ongoing human rights abuses against her country’s Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority.
Tory did not publicly address those calls but said Suu Kyi, on a fact-finding mission to learn how to rebuild democracy in her homeland, can learn a lot from diverse and tolerant Toronto.
“Her Excellency has worked tirelessly to bring reforms and peace to Myanmar,” another name for Bur- ma, the mayor said.
“Her story is an inspiration to all of those who live in places where democracy continues to be a work in progress . . . “Here and in Myanmar (we need) constant vigilance for the rights and inclusions of all citizens, including women, youth and ethnic and religious minorities . . . (to) move forward, especially on democracy and inclusion.”
Suu Kyi answered pre-submitted questions in her native tongue, often invoking laughter. While speaking briefly in English, the renowned democracy champion seemed to acknowledge Burma has not met everyone’s expectations.
“It has been a very happy (occasion) just to meet the people who have come from our country and who have settled here in Canada, and who are enjoying the advantages of democracy and federalism,” she said.
“We hope that we will be able to learn the right lessons from you and take it back to our country to make our paths to a democratic federal union smoother than it has been.”
Reporters were invited to watch, but given no opportunity to ask questions.
Khan Han, an invited guest who has lived in Toronto for the past 18 years, was thrilled to see Suu Kyi and hear her answers about their South Asian homeland.
“It feels wonderful, absolutely,” the bagel shop owner said.
But outside, in Nathan Phillips Square, about 40 protesters carried signs including “Stop genocide of Rohingya.”
The UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned reports of killings, detentions, rapes and the razing of Rohingya villages. Suu Kyi has resisted calls for an international probe because, some say, she fears antagonizing politically powerful Buddhist nationalists who view the Muslim minority as illegal immigrants.
“We hope that we will be able to learn the right lessons from you and take it back to our country.” AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Tin Aung, who left Burma in 1988, said he was long part of Suu Kyi’s struggle for democracy. Organizers of Friday’s event initially suggested he could attend and ask a question, he said, but then told him he was not welcome inside the city hall chamber.
“She not only discriminates back home, but she systematically blocked us here in a free country,” he said. “We know each other, I’m not going to make chaos.”
Anwar Arkani, who left Burma in 1984 and arrived in Canada in 1988, called Suu Kyi a “hypocrite” for championing human rights while “in our country if you are Muslim, you are considered unclean.”