Lord of the Dance
Dublin councillors vote overwhelmingly to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi‘s freedom of city
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Dublin councillors vote overwhelmingly to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi‘s freedom of city

DUBLIN City councillors have this evening voted overwhelmingly to revoke the freedom of Dublin City awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi.

The move comes after Bob Geldof handed back his Freedom of the City last month in protest at the Myanmar leader also holding the honour.

U2 meanwhile penned an open letter to Dublin City Council yesterday asking them to remove Ms Suu Kyi’s honour.

Some 59 councillors tonight voted to revoke her Freedom of Dublin City, with two opposed and one abstaining.

Most councillors said the reason for their decision was Ms Suu Kyi’s failure to condemn the treatment of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

Councillors also upheld Mr Geldof's wishes by voting to remove his name from the roll of honour, with 27 in favour, seven against and five abstaining.

The council had previously considered removing Ms Suu Kyi from the roll of honour but no mechanism existed to do so under current legislation.

However the council’s protocol committee introduced a resolution to enable them to remove the names of both Ms Suu Kyi and Geldof.

Ms Suu Kyi was awarded the honour in 1999 and received it in person in 2012 after being released from 15 years of house arrest.

In September, the People Before Profit Alliance had called for Ms Suu Kyi’s Freedom of Dublin City to be rescinded.

The campaign gathered momentum when Geldof returned his honour in November.