Late last year, pictures of monks marching in the streets of
Burma
occupied the cover of every major newspaper and magazine, and were even talked
about here on the RAC
Blog. The spirit of the Saffron
revolution was alive and even President Bush spoke to the UN advocating on
behalf of the people of Burma
who have lived under the rule of a cruel regime for almost twenty years.
Unfortunately, six months later discussions of the Saffron revolution and the
people of Burma
have fallen silent.
But, the United States Congress has not forgotten about Burma.
Last week, the United States Senate, following the passage
of a similar measure in the House in December, voted unanimously to award Aung San
Suu Kyi, the former Nobel Peace Prize currently held under house arrest by the
military junta, with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Aung San is the first person to receive the
award while imprisoned and is only the thirty-first foreign recipient of the
highest US
civilian honor. The US Campaign for Burma expressed the importance of this
congressional honor, “in a world in
which public heroes are few and far between, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the
greatest people of our time; she richly deserves this award, an award we hope
will show the people of Burma
they are not alone in their struggle.”
We agree and congratulate Aung San Suu Kyi’s bravery. We also applaud Congress for honoring so
deserving an individual.
Click here
to read more about this remarkable woman and her quest to pursue justice in the
country for which she cares so deeply.
