Civic leaders should consider stripping Aung San Suu Kyi of the freedom of the Dundee because of the ethnic cleaning of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, SNP MP Stewart Hosie has said.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner is de facto leader of Myanmar – formerly known as Burma – but has so far not acted to halt an army offenive agiansat hte Muslim minority group.
Nearly half a million refugees have fled to Bangladesh because of the army offensive, which the United Nations has said amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Nearly 200 people attended a demonstration in Dundee City Square on Sunday protesting against what speakers termed a genocide.
UN general secretary Antonio Guterres has said Suu Kyi must user her address to the country on Tuesday to speak out against the military.
So far she has defended their actions and blamed “fake news” despite testimony from refugees describing how the military burned villages and subjected them to brutal attacks in a bid to drive them from their homes.
Speaking before the rally, Mr Hosie said Dundee should consider stripping her of her honour if she continues to sit back and do nothing to halt the ethnic cleaning of Rohingya Muslims
Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest in Burma for years by the military junta, despite winning the 1990 election.
She was awarded the Freedom of Dundee in 2008.
Dundee East MP Mr Hosie said: “What the UN said today was that she is on her last chance and I think that is appropriate for the Freedom of the City as it is for her Nobel Peace Prize.
“If she doesn’t take action to stop the genocide then all options are on the table.”
Dundee West SNP MP Chris Law also spoke at Sunday’s event.
A member of the International Development Committee, he intends to visit Myanmar and Bangladesh to see first-hand what is happening to the Rohingya Muslims.
Mr Law said: “Silence is not an option and Aung San Sui Kyi must now speak out against this and bring a swift end to this violence against people of her own nation.”
There were a number of speakers at the event, organised by the Union of Dundee Mosques, including representatives from the Sikh community and the Church of Scotland.
Organiser Qaiser Habib said he was pleased at the turnout for the event.
Bashir Chohan the chairman of Dundee Islamic Society, described events in Myanmar as a “holocaust”.
Among those attending were Mohammed Bhatti from Brouhty Ferry and his nine-year-old daughter Sarah.
She said: “Killing people is unfair. We should treat everybody the same.”
