The protesters demanded the Tatmadaw stop killing Rohingya in Rakhine State and criticized Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the government’s treatment of the Muslim minority group. Some protesters also called for an end to fighting in Kachin State.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met by protesters while receiving award in London

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was being presented the honorary Freedom of the City of London award. According to a statement, the prestigious award was presented in recognition of the National League for Democracy leader’s "non-violent struggle over many years for democracy and her steadfast dedication to create a society where people can live in peace, security and freedom".

Outside of Guildhall where the award ceremony took place, protesters led by the Burmese Rohingya Organization in the UK, Restlessbeings and the Kachin National Organization in the UK chanted, “shame on you” and “"Suu Kyi is lying; Rohingyas are dying".

“What was London thinking?” Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s Executive Director, said on Twitter.

Some of the protesters expressed what they called a loss of faith in the state counsellor and democracy icon.

"We believed that she would be a champion of human rights but she has been complicit with ... the junta murdering innocent Rohingyas," a protester at the event said, according to AFP.

The Myanmar community in the UK launched an online petition condemning the demonstration against the state counsellor, and urging patience as the “complex situation” in Rakhine State is addressed.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses committed during the security operation in Rakhine State.

Last month, she rejected the UN Human Rights Council’s decision to send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar to investigate allegations of abuses and potential crimes against humanity committed during a counter-insurgency operation in Rakhine State. She said the government is trying to implement recommendations offered by a commission headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan in order to address long-term issues.

When recently asked by the BBC if she feared being remembered as a Nobel Laureate who failed to stand up to ethnic cleansing in her own country, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she thinks “ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening”.

Since a military crackdown began last October, the UN has reported that more than 1,000 Rohingya have been killed in northern Rakhine, and at least 70,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
 
The Honorary Freedom of the City of London is the highest honor that the City of London Corporation can bestow upon an individual.

Edited by Laignee Barron