THE leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of her Freedom of the City of Oxford. 

A cross-party motion was unanimously supported at a special city council meeting in Oxford Town Hall moments ago.

The move is a result of Aung San Suu Kyi's failure to acknowledge the violence against the Rohingya people in her own country.

Councillor Mary Clarkson, who proposed the motion, said: “When Aung San Suu Kyi was given the Freedom of the City in 1997 it was because she reflected Oxford's values of tolerance and internationalism.

"We celebrated her for her opposition to oppression and military rule in Burma.

“Today we have taken the unprecedented step of stripping her of the city’s highest honour because of her inaction in the face of oppression of the minority Rohingya population.

"The burning of their villages has been independently confirmed by satellite images, and the UN has called the situation 'a textbook example of genocide' – yet Aung San Suu Kyi has denied any ethnic cleansing and dismissed numerous claims of sexual violence against Rohingya women as 'fake rape'.

“Oxford has a long tradition of being a diverse and humane city, and our reputation is tarnished by honouring those who turn a blind eye to violence. We hope that today we have added our small voice to others calling for human rights and justice for the Rohingya people.”