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Côte Saint-Luc to honour Aung San Suu Kyi on Human Rights Walkway on July 1, 2011

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Côte Saint-Luc, June 6, 2011 – The City of Côte Saint-Luc will unveil a plaque honouring Aung San Suu Kyi on the city’s Human Rights Walkway on Friday, July 1, 2011 at 5:30 pm as part of the city’s annual Canada Day celebrations.

Aung San Suu Kyi has valiantly struggled for democracy and human rights in Burma for more than 20 years. Burma has been under military dictatorship since 1962. The military placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest in 1989, offering to free her if she agreed to leave the country. She refused and demanded the return of civilian government and the release of political prisoners. In 1990, her party, the NLD, won a landslide victory in Burma’s first multi-party elections in 30 years, but it has never been allowed to govern. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest.  

“Like others we have honoured, Aung San Suu Kyi put herself in danger to help bring about democratic change,” Mayor Anthony Housefather said. “Several times during her long captivity, the military government offered her the opportunity to leave the country, but she refused to leave her homeland preferring instead to continue her long struggle for democracy and human rights together with her people.”

In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2007, the Government of Canada made her an honorary citizen and imposed some of the toughest sanctions in the world against Burma in order to exert pressure against the military.

The Human Rights Walkway was inaugurated in 2000 and is located at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park (6975 Mackle Rd.), and is dedicated to men and women who have promoted human rights. The co-chairpersons for this year’s event are councillors Ruth Kovac and Glenn J. Nashen.

The public can learn more about the past honourees at www.CoteSaintLuc.org/en/Walkway.

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For more information: Darryl Levine, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, 514-485-8905, dlevine@cotesaintluc.org