Paris: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded as an honorary citizen of Paris, with her European tour heading towards the end in France.
“You are a woman of peace and love, and this is why Paris also loves you,” said mayor Bertrand Delanoe, hailing her “tenacity” and “unshakeable faith” in her campaign for democracy in the country formerly called Burma.
In France, she was treated with honours normally reserved for a head of state, dining at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday with President Francois Hollande, who pledged support for her country’s transition towards democracy, AFP reported.
Suu Kyi, 67, has in the past two weeks visited Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and now France, receiving rock star welcomes along the way.
On Wednesday, she received her 2004 honorary citizen of Paris certificate and met with the French capital’s mayor. Paris city hall once honoured Suu Kyi by hanging a huge portrait of her outside the building in 2007.
“I was surprised and happy that Paris supported my cause with such vigour,” Suu Kyi said.
Speaking later to representatives of rights groups, Suu Kyi told political prisoners around the world not to give up their fight.
“You must not let go of your principles. If you respect yourself you do not give up your fight,” she told the gathering on a barge on the River Seine in the heart of Paris.
On Tuesday Hollande said France gave its full backing to the transition efforts in Myanmar, and said Paris was ready to welcome Thein Sein, who also received an invitation from former colonial ruler Britain last week.
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