Canada revokes Myanmar leader Suu Kyi's honorary citizenship

AP  |  Ottawa 

has formally stripped of her for complicity in the atrocities committed againstMyanmar's

The upper house's move follows a similar unanimous vote in the last week.

is the first person to have her revoked.

A fact-finding mission reported last month that theMyanmar'smilitary has systematically killed thousands of Rohingya civilians, burned hundreds of their villages and engaged in ethnic cleansing and mass gang rape. It called for top generals to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide.

The has also followed the lead of the Commons in recognizing that the crimes against humanity committed by theMyanmarmilitary against the Rohingya constitute a genocide.

"We must recognize this atrocity for what it is," said Sen. Ratna Omidvar, who introduced the motion to revoke Suu Kyi's citizenship Tuesday.

"It is genocide. We must call it as it is." was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her fight for democracy inMyanmar.

"At that point she was a champion for change and human rights ... The world pinned its hope on her as the shining light and hope for a democratic and peacefulMyanmar," said Omidvar. "As we all now know, that was not to be." Omidvar said Suu Kyi has denied the atrocities, restricted access to international investigators and journalists, defended the military and denied humanitarian aid for the Rohingya.

"We need to send a strong signal here in and around the world that if you're an accomplice of genocide, you are not welcome here. Certainly not as an honorary Canadian citizen.

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First Published: Wed, October 03 2018. 08:45 IST