The leader of the non-violent movement for human rights and democracy in Burma has been awarded the Freedom of Dundee.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has campaigned for democratic change through dialogue and not violence, was represented by a member of Amnesty International at the ceremony in the Steps Theatre.
Councillors in the city unanimously agreed to grant the rare tribute at a meeting in June.
Lord Provost of Dundee, John Letford, who hosted the ceremony said: “For many years Aung San Suu Kyi has been the best, and perhaps the only, hope, that Burma will be free from oppression.
“Her struggle bears so many similarities to that of Nelson Mandela, who also awarded this honour in 1985.”
Director of the Burma Campaign UK, Anna Roberts received a framed and mounted certificate with the ancient text granting the right of Freedom of the City on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The ceremony was attended by elected members and officers of Dundee City as well as pupils from a number of the city’s secondary schools.
The Freedom of Dundee, made in recognition of her achievements in the service of democracy, is highest honour that the city can bestow, and signals the council’s support for Aung San Suu Kyi’s immediate release from house arrest and the restoration of democratic government in Burma.
Amnesty International has been orchestrating a campaign for local authorities across the country to grant freedom status as a way of ramping up pressure on the military regime in Burma.
In 1990 Ms Suu Kyi’s party scored a decisive victory in national elections, but it has never been allowed to govern by the ruling military dictatorship which subsequently placed her under house arrest, a state that has remained on and off for more than 12 years.
A year after the election victory the 63 year-old was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Among a number of notable individuals to have previously received the Freedom of Dundee are Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, The Black Watch, Robert Fleming founder of Flemings Bank and most recently in 1993, former Dundee United manager, Jim McLean.