Leader could be stripped of Scots honour
Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be removed as an Honorary Fellow of the The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd).
The Nobel Laureate appeared before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week to deny allegations that a 2017 military campaign amounted to genocide.
Thousands of Muslim Rohingya were killed and 700,000 fled the Buddhist majority country formerly known as Burma amid a crackdown.
The RCSEd made Ms Suu Kyi an Honorary Fellow in 2015 when she was Myanmar’s main opposition leader. It is the highest honour the can be awarded by the college, which was founded in 1505.
At the time Ms Suu Kyi was a celebrated pro-democracy politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize after spending 15 years as a political prisoner.
Speaking at a ceremony in Edinburgh in 2015, then president of the RCSEd Ian Ritchie said: “It was a great privilege to award an Honorary Fellowship to such a distinguished recipient, whose standing as a globally recognised figurehead for freedom and democracy is unparalleled.”
However, a spokeswoman for the RCSEd said this week the award is now under review. She told The Post: “There is currently a process ongoing to examine her Honorary Fellowship of the college so we cannot comment further at this time.”
Last year Ms Suu Kyi was stripped of the freedom of the city of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee over allegations of atrocities in Myanmar.
Ms Suu Kyi told the ICJ in the Hague last week the case against Myanmar is incomplete and incorrect. She insisted the violence was an internal armed conflict triggered by militant attacks by Rohingya.
Ms Suu Kyi does not control Myanmar’s army. However, she has been accused by the UN of complicity in the military operation.