On Thursday, September 27th Canadian Members of Parliament voted in the House of Commons to unanimously to strip Aung San Suu Kyi of the honourary Canadian citizenship which it awarded her in 2008.  Once a similar vote takes place in the Senate it will be official and Suu Kyi will no longer hold that honour.

This is a major symbolic victory that comes after a year of concerted effort by Rohingya activists, allies and supporters.

While we will celebrate this small step towards justice for the Rohingya people the work is not over.

The Canadian government has still not responded to the other asks that were contained in this petition which was initiated a little over a year ago.

We are still waiting for the Canadian government to take leadership to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar in conjunction with international partners.

And we are still waiting to for Canada to work with international agencies and allies to create a safe haven for the Rohingya in their homeland in Myanmar under the United Nations protocol of “Responsibility to Protect”.

I ask that you continue to support us and the efforts of our allies in pressuring the Canadian government to live up to the claims made by our political leaders that Canada believes in defending human rights and the international legal order.  Only when all that we have asked of the Canadian government has been achieved can we fully celebrate a victory.

Sincerely,

Fareed Khan
Rohingya Human Rights Network


In unprecedented move, Commons passes motion to strip Suu Kyi’s honorary citizenship
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-house-of-commons-unanimously-passes-motion-to-strip-aung-san-suu-kyis/